In All Her Wisdom
by Paisley Snail
Summary: HG/SS Four year old Athena Snape's attempt to seek revenge against her parents has interesting consequences for them both in a time when her very existence had never yet been thought of. Slightly AU Snape alive , EWE? Rating for some language later.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Now that I have found a beta – this first chapter has been re-worked._

_Many Thanks to Anachronistic Anglophile._

**Chapter 1 'Hadrian'**

_December 12, 2004 _

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Athena Snape was not impressed. Ever since Mummy and Daddy had brought home baby Hadrian, the level of the attention she received had been quite simply unacceptable. Quality, not quantity, was the issue. Everyone who had visited the Snape household over the last few days had made a point of informing her that she must be so excited to have a little brother, never mind that no one had actually bothered consulting her on the matter. Even at the tender age of four, there were only so many misguided assumptions a precocious child like Athena could tolerate before something drastic had to be done.

The issue at hand was ridiculously straightforward. Having inherited a marked tendency to stew over perceived wrongs from her father, she combined this with her considerable intellect to quickly enumerate the offences against her before deciding on an appropriate course of action

There was no doubt in the young girl's mind that the worst offender was Mummy.

Mummy had always been the happiest about the baby. Daddy never showed much emotion, so even though Athena knew he was happy too, his quiet joy did not bother her nearly as much as Mummy's bouncy enthusiasm and broad smiles. Since the baby had come home, Mummy had not baked Athena a cake like she promised, and no one had asked her what she wanted to play. Everyone just looked at the baby in Mummy's arms and made silly noises.

The worst crime of all, however, was Mummy's audacity in punishing Athena, when all she had done was pinch Hadrian in front of Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. It was not her fault that he started crying. From what she had witnessed, Hadrian cried all the time anyway, so Mummy's reaction was clearly uncalled for. She had narrowed her eyes, and even told Athena in a scary voice to 'go to your room immediately young lady!'. In the midst of contemplating Mummy's mistakes, Athena seemed briefly considered that Daddy had frowned at her too. She supposed that even though it had been a very big frown, Daddy did that all the time even to Mummy, so he must not really be angry.

Having satisfied herself as to the totality of her parents' guilt, Athena's tenacious little mind began to settle on a plan. Contemplating the consequences of any potential act, she decided to do something that would sit particularly badly with Mummy, but would not likely attract Daddy's ire. In all honesty, Athena was not too worried about Daddy's reaction. Ever since she had found Daddy's new hiding spot for Firewhisky and cigars, they had come to an understanding. No one wanted to listen to Mummy screech about 'irresponsible fathers' and 'disgusting habits' again. It was much better, for the most part, just to keep each others' secrets.

Deciding with childish caprice that Mummy was the sole perpetrator of the recent spate of inexcusable crime, Athena hatched a more specific plan of action. One of Mummy's weaknesses was her tendency to try to explain everything to everyone. She could not stop herself from giving the most long-winded lectures whenever anyone had the lack of foresight to ask a question about her mother's work at the Department of Mysteries. To add to this, Mummy sometimes got so caught up in the world of research and invention that could not refrain from bringing her work home.

Athena knew Mummy's second-to-latest obsession (the new first was obviously stupid baby Hadrian) was currently residing in the drawer of the desk in the study. Taking it would even be doing a good deed for Daddy. Daddy never liked Mummy's projects. He always complained that she took up too much of his desk space when she was working on something. To this, Mummy unfailingly replied that he already had an office, a private potions lab and a classroom so she would 'damn well make use of the private study he rarely used anyway'. Athena thought Daddy might even thank her for removing this troublesome object.

Of course, Mummy was never so irresponsible as to leave any indication to her daughter as to where she kept this important object, but her caution was for naught. A few days ago, Athena had seen Daddy take the thing out of the drawer and look at it for a long time, before carefully placing it back. Daddy had pulled a funny face while he was looking at the ugly necklace. He probably thought it was sad to have it in the house too.

After waiting a reasonable amount of time in her room, Athena began to implement her vengeful plot. Tiptoeing into the study, she glanced around and decided the coast was clear. Mummy was too trusting. To Athena's benefit; she neither locked Athena's bedroom door nor did she ward the desk drawer. As a result, it was supremely easy to opened the drawer and take out the object. It was strange, comprising of a small hourglass filled with glitter-dust, suspended between two thin golden hoops, and hanging on a fine chain. Mummy had officially shown it to Athena before, warning her daughter not to touch the golden hoops, or else. Of course, being single-mindedly focused on upsetting her mother, Athena flicked the rings maliciously. All of a sudden, her vision went dark, and the little girl screamed in panic.

*****

Leaving Severus to see the Potters to the Entrance Hall, Hermione spent several minutes calming baby Hadrian and putting him to sleep in his crib before checking on her daughter. She now felt slightly guilty about sending Athena to her room. After all, Hermione thought with all the goodwill and blind optimism of a loving parent, the girl had not actually _meant_ to harm her brother. Athena was a bright but stubborn child, and Hadrian was a change she would eventually accept, though Hermione knew it would take some time. However, before Hermione could reflect on her daughter's mindset any further, she heard a muffled squeak from the direction of the study.

On reaching the relevant doorway, Hermione was not really surprised to see that her husband had reached the study before her. Even after all these years, Severus was always keen to see the Potters to the door with undue haste, and after all, the study was closer to the living room than the nursery. She smiled fondly at the thought of her husband's stubborn nature. At times, Severus still pretended to need 'quiet time' to regain his equilibrium after any interaction with Harry Potter. Ever the dramatist, this involved nothing but sitting and staring into space.

However, now was not the time for sentimental musing. One glance at her husband's posture was enough to tell Hermione that he was in considerable distress over what they both knew must have occurred.

He standing up ramrod-straight and eyeing the open, empty drawer with a frown. His black eyes were completely shuttered and lips pursed into a thin line. Walking into the study fully, Hermione gave him a bright smile and gently wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his chest. Though his body relaxed almost immediately when he returned her embrace, he was clearly still upset. It seemed no amount of mental preparation could entirely quash his feelings on the matter.

'I do hope you haven't made any mistakes with that Time Turner, witch,' he said, with a noticeable bite in his tone. 'I must reiterate the difficulty I have in attempting to reconcile how the thing can have the "potential to cause temporal dislocation" and yet be as "child-safe" as you claim.' After seven years as her teacher and almost the same amount of time as her husband, Severus had made an art form of mimicking his wife's worst know-it-all tone of voice.

Being well acquainted with her husband's methods of deflecting attention from his true emotions, Hermione deliberately refused to rise to his bait, taking comfort in the fact that she was certain all the calculations had been done correctly. She and her fellow Unspeakables had perfected the art of sending someone back a few years rather than mere hours in time with some modifications to ordinary time dust, but so far they had been entirely unsuccessful in managing to keep people there. All test subjects had returned within a few days to their own time, having spent between a few hours to a fortnight in the past. This case had even less variables than many of the other experiments, as it was not really an experiment at all. She therefore felt no guilt at all in grinning somewhat mischievously at her irritable husband as she answered.

'At least we know she'll be well looked after.'

If Severus' snort was any indication, he heartily begged to differ.


	2. Chapter 2

CH 2 – Sunday 'Severus'

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR, so nothing you recognise belongs to me. I am making no money from writing this story._

_AN: Thanks to all those who sent such lovely reviews! This chapter is a bit shorter than the last, but when you reach the end, you will hopefully understand why it was a convenient place to take a break._

_My thanks again also to my beta, Anachronistic Anglophile – I don't know what I would do without you!!!_

_*****_

_December 13, 1998_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Severus Snape was not sure what to make of his present existence now that the war was over and he had 'miraculously' survived. However, when such a feat was contrary to one's explicit intention, living could be vexing to the extreme. Aside from the incredibly high likelihood that if one side did not kill him, the other definitely would, the only post-war life plan Severus had ever considered was one that involved charming his way into one of the nicer Azkaban cells. After all, what was the point of spending the rest of one's natural life on an island if your cell did not have a water view? In any case, the long and short of the matter was that Severus found himself at a distinct disadvantage compared with his contemporaries on both sides of the war in finding a place for himself in the new world order, when he was not unceremoniously thrown in prison at the cessation of hostilities.

On some days, he almost wished that he possessed the overwhelming arrogance of Lucius Malfoy. The slippery snake's productive use of his Dark-Lord-enforced home detention became immediately clear once the dust had settled. Not a month after his family's pardon, which was heavily influenced by one Harry Potter, Lucius produced a comprehensive re-investment plan for the Malfoy fortune into legitimate endeavours. While the rest of the wizarding world praised the depth of Potter's magnanimousness, Severus knew better. The Potter brat owed Narcissa Malfoy a life debt for her actions in the Forest. The Malfoys getting off was quid pro quo, pure and simple.

Speaking of Potter, Severus was almost physically sickened when he learned that the Ministry was desperate enough to hire him and his sidekick Weasel as fully-salaried Aurors in the wake of the Dark Lord's fall. With almost all his fellow Order lackeys joining the ranks of the Ministry, that establishment's incompetence had never been more obvious.

When Snape returned to Hogwarts as Potions Master, he ignored all the whispers behind his back about why he had not moved on, or at least taken the DADA post he had coveted for years. The reason behind this was that Slughorn had insisted on returning to a more peaceful retirement than before, and Snape had missed the mystique of his former position. At least, that was what he adamantly told himself. Never mind that Minerva had offered a host of retirement benefits and a salary increase to save herself from having to hire the next best candidate, a former flame of hers with whom it had ended particularly badly. The students were no less dunderheaded, and the dungeon classroom still absolutely freezing in winter, but Severus was comfortable in what he had come to see as his domain. He had no latent desire to uproot himself and see the world, no burning passion for change, no secret dream to pursue. Hogwarts was his staple, like lemon drops to Albus Dumbledore. He was content with all it had to offer.

Actually, there were some perks to life in the post-war world. First was the very fact that Potter and Weasley had not returned to Hogwarts to complete their educations. He was pleased to see that they at least had the common decency not to inflict their presence on those who did not want it. The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Hermione Granger. Not that her return surprised him in the least. There were precious few students from her year who had returned, and fewer yet of their own volition. Draco Malfoy had been given the no choice by either the Wizengamot or the combined forces of Lucius and Narcissa. Though not quite dragged to school kicking and screaming, he had nevertheless been a completely intolerable companion for at least a week before he accepted the lack of alternatives. To his credit, he had quieted considerably since then, working more diligently than anyone had believed possible.

This chilly Sunday evening, as Severus sat as his desk intent on finishing off the last of the day's marking, his peaceful solitude was rudely interrupted by a person materialising in his private study. With reflexes still sharp as ever, Severus had shot a Stunner straight at the intruder before realising that it was a small child.

_Shit._

Quickly assuring himself that he had not hit anything vital or killed her accidentally, Snape decided the best course of action would be to take the girl to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey deal with this mess. He would have to find out exactly how she had gotten into his office later, even though his long-lived paranoia urged him to investigate immediately.

*****

When Athena woke, she was somewhat disconcerted to wake from a position she could not remember ever being in before. The last thing she recalled was playing with Mummy's special project in Daddy's study. As her vision settled on a familiar face, she suddenly felt much more at ease. It was time to get answers.

'Where are we, Daddy?'

*****

_Honestly!_ thought Poppy Pomfrey fiercely as she watched the child wake up. Though she was fond of Severus in her own way, having treated so many of his injuries over the years, nothing could excuse his actions this time. _He had actually Stunned a child! What next? Teaching Dark Potions to the first years, perhaps? _

His curt explanation that the girl had suddenly materialised in his study did him no favours in Poppy's books. Young children did not just 'appear' at Hogwarts; they always arrived by train, carriage or sometimes flying car.

On hearing the little one's request to know their whereabouts, Poppy struggled valiantly against the urge to faint. _His daughter?_ Truly, the man was an enigma. She doubted even Minerva was aware he had fathered a child. Speaking of Minerva, this was undoubtedly a matter in which the Headmistress must be consulted. However, before Poppy could find the presence of mind to use the fireplace in her office, Minerva herself swept into the Hospital Wing. It seemed she had mastered the prerogative of Hogwarts Heads to arrive whenever something was amiss.

'Severus Snape, _what _did you do?'


	3. Chapter 3

CH 3 – Sunday 'Daddy?'

_AN: I apologise for the long delay and fairly short update. A number of random one-off commitments/events suddenly came up in the past two weeks making it almost impossible for me to have got this polished any quicker. Please bear with me – I promise that the next instalment will be longer._

_My thanks to all those lovely people who reviewed – I really, really appreciate knowing your thoughts and even just getting random comments about the story. _

_There are no words to describe how much I appreciate my wonderful beta Anachronistic Anglophile…thanks again for everything!_

*****

Whilst he let Minerva's histrionics fade into white noise, Severus' mind worked at triple its usual pace. He had never been more uncomfortable in his life than the moment when the little girl woke, looked directly at him with a frown and demanded to know where 'they' were.

Severus could not for the life of him understand how the girl came to be operating under the delusion that he was her father. Since he had never completely fit into any of the various groups he had been associated with over the years and even made a point of keeping his distance, he found it quite novel to be referred to in a collective with anyone, let alone a child he had never before set eyes on. However, upon noticing that she had onyx eyes that were a rather creepy reflection of his own, he decided it might be wise to give some credence to her claims and immediately began filing through the possibilities.

The girl looked younger than five, and therefore must have been born around the time of the Dark Lord's second rise. Though the admission might embarrass another man, Severus was relieved at his total lack of relevant female companionship in the past decade, because it completely negated the possibility that the child was his. It was notable that she lacked the distinguishable Snape nose. His mind at rest on the 'Daddy' front, he was at leisure to examine the child more closely. Aside from the black eyes—which were, incidentally, a shape completely different to his own—her face had no other very distinctive features. Not everyone was so immediately recognisable as The-Boy-Who-Entered-The-World-Looking-Exactly-Like-James-Potter. The girl's hair was a dark, chocolate brown and slightly wavy, contrasting with her pale, creamy skin. Taken altogether, she was quite a pretty child.

Before he answered her question, Severus could not help but try to dig for information from the child the hard way. It would be extremely unprincipled to use Legilimency on a small child for no other reason than to satisfy his own curiosity.*

'I will tell you where you are, if you tell me first what your name is and how you came to be in my office,' he purred softly. There was no point in scaring the child if she would volunteer the information freely.

To his surprise, the girl actually giggled at him.

'What a silly game, Daddy. I'm Athena Snape,' she said. She looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. 'I will tell you why I was in your office if you promise not to tell Mummy.'

To say that Severus was surprised would be an understatement of the highest order. Ignoring the truly disconcerting parts of what she had said, the cunning and intelligence of her response was intriguing. Given her age, it was more likely to be a natural trait rather than taught. Half of his students, lamentable excuses for Slytherins that they were, would not have thought to use his own desire for information to exact any sort of promise. Before he could pry further however, Minerva decided to intervene.

'Athena is a lovely name,' she stated briskly, now completely recovered from her highly improper outburst on entering the Hospital Wing. Severus snorted at this bald pronouncement. She _would_ think 'Athena' was lovely. After all, it was the Greek version of her own name.

'Grandma Minnie!' the child squealed excitedly, as if she had only just noticed the older woman's presence. This, Severus found hard to believe. Minerva's slightly stern demeanour had only augmented after she took over the running of the school. For the little girl to refer to her by a nickname she absolutely loathed and give her the appellation 'Grandma' instead of 'Aunt' was completely mad.

The possible consequences of her apparent intimacy with the Hogwarts faculty in general then set off alarm bells in his mind. Unfortunately for him, Severus was forced to conclude that as they shared a surname, it was too great a coincidence to assume that she was not his. Experience with the magical world led him to defer the 'hows' and 'whys' until later. The cogs in Severus' mind started grinding again. The usage of the Greek form 'Athena' was interesting. Most wizards preferred to use Latin, yet mythological names in general were not particularly popular among British Muggles.

Merlin's pants! If the girl was his, he had at the very least tacitly consented to naming his daughter after the mangy cat-woman on the opposite side of the bed! Severus was so consumed by this train of thought that he barely heard Minerva continue.

'Please tell us how you came to be in Professor Snape's office, child.'

'I don't like Hadrian, so I took Mummy's necklace' was the grudging, and totally illogical reply. The girl then reluctantly opened her little hand to reveal what was unmistakably a Time-Turner. Curiously enough, it no longer had any time dust in the hourglass. While Minerva and Poppy gasped at this, Severus' expression became completely rigid in his attempt to quash his panic. If the girl was from the future, she bloody well might be his! As this horrifying thought bashed through the chambers of his mind like Grawp through saplings in the Forbidden Forest, he barely heard Minerva stumble over her next words.

'What do you…no, where is your mother, child?'

The girl took a good look at her surroundings for the first time. Her little shoulders slumped and she drew her knees to her chest as she seemed to realise that her mother was not present. Just as she was defiantly lifting her chin, another thought seemed to occur to her; her countenance quickly falling once more.

'I don't think Mummy wants me anymore, Grandma Minnie,' the girl whimpered, looking up through wet eyelashes at the surprised Headmistress. There was a brief flash of something other than sadness in her expression when she added, 'can I stay with you?'

Unlike Severus, who was much more accustomed to witnessing feminine bids for attention and sympathy than his no-nonsense female colleague, Minerva bought this little act, and even dredged up whatever small amount of maternal instinct she was capable of when she said, 'I am sure your mother loves you very much, child,' in a tone that was somewhat kinder than her usual brisk snap. She then glanced at Severus, eyebrow raised in silent question. He only frowned in reply. There seemed to be a healthy dose of sincerity in the child's initial body language, but much less in her later performance. With the odds of him _not _being this girl's father stacking up against him, he quietly suggested doing a paternity test before they proceeded.

_* Using Legilimency has always struck me as a very significant invasion of privacy. Another fanfic writer whose pen name currently escapes me referred to it in their story as 'mind rape'. Not only are there slightly less invasive magical alternatives outlined in canon, but I prefer to think that there are better ways for any adult with half a brain to get information from a young child. Hence, for the purposes of this story, Snape will not be using it on Athena. Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4 – Sunday 'Aunt Ginny'

_AN: Sorry about the delay – this chapter needed a lot more work than some of the others, and it is also much, much longer than my previous posts. We are now finished with Sunday, and so next chapter will launch into the week starting Monday._

_Thanks again to all those who reviewed and my lovely beta AnachronisticAnglophile._

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The paternity test was positive, indicating that Severus was indeed the father of the hapless Athena. Unfortunately for the aggrieved Potions Master, this raised as many questions as it answered. Luckily, he had been able to fob the child off on Miss Weasley, thus securing a child-free evening.

Needless to say, how exactly they had come to _that_ arrangement was a story in itself.

First off the mark as usual, Minerva had been adamant that Severus should shoulder this responsibility and take care of the girl himself.

'A child should be looked after by his or her parents,' she had stated loftily, as if she were the verysource of the social norm.

'I'm sure that is more than Severus can take on, Headmistress. He has no experience with young children,' Poppy countered pointedly, obviously still upset with the condition in which Athena had been brought to the Hospital Wing.

Just as Severus was about to snap that he was in the room and could bloody well speak for himself, it occurred to him that he might be better off swallowing his pride and agreeing with Poppy's estimation of his parenting skills, rather than go out of his way just to prove her wrong.

'With all due respect, Minerva,' he drawled with as much feigned indifference as he could muster. 'I have not the time to care for the girl, and as Poppy so eloquently put it, my classroom is a completely unsuitable environment for a young child.' Here he could not resist a dig at his longtime colleague. 'Longbottom may have graduated, but there are certainly several younger students who seem bent on following in his footsteps. I hardly think you can object to my wish of protecting the girl from such gross incompetence while she is at so tender an age.'

Just before Minerva could indignantly retort on the behalf of the infamous Mr Longbottom, Athena herself brought about a resolution when Head Girl Ginny Weasley, of all people, had burst into the Hospital Wing in search of the Headmistress.

'Professor McGonagall,' the girl panted, quite out of breath. 'There's been an accident in the Charms corridor that requires your assistance.' However, before Miss Weasley had been able to explain the nature of this 'accident', Athena jumped off her bed and launched herself bodily in the direction of the older girl.

'Aunt Ginny!' she squealed.

Fortunately for all involved, Miss Weasley had good reflexes, and so was not bowled over the by the excited child's enthusiasm. To her credit, she was even quick-witted enough to return the girl's hug and pretend to know what was happening. Evidently, being quite fond of children must run in the Weasley family.

'I want to stay with Aunt Ginny tonight,' Athena boldly declared.

Although at any other time Severus might have objected to his daughter being surrounded by Gryffindor imbeciles (the Weasley girl included), he was so desperate to straighten his thoughts in peace that he would take whatever he could get.

'Would that suit you, Miss Weasley?' he asked deceptively mildly, roundly ignoring the soft snort of disapproval he heard from Minerva as well as Poppy's irritated tutting.

To his surprise, Ginny Weasley smiled. 'Of course, Professor. May I ask how long she will be staying?'

At this seemingly innocuous question, all the adults exchanged glances loaded with meaning. Though Poppy still practically radiated disapproval, Minerva chose not to interfere, instead giving Severus a slight nod to signal it would be his decision how much to tell Miss Weasley of Athena's situation.

Whilst Athena obliviously chattered about such and such toy broomstick she wanted and that horrid new dress she had been forced to wear the day before, Severus managed to convey in an undertone the absolute essentials of the situation to the increasingly wide-eyed Ginevra Weasley. Yes, she really was from the future. No, no one was sure how she got to the past or who her parents were. Many thanks for offering to look after her until such time as she is returned to her own time.

When he deemed Miss Weasley had been told enough, Severus smoothly turned the conversation to avoid any further questions.

'Would you care to tell us what it was that you originally came to see Professor McGonagall about, Miss Weasley?' he asked, sneer in place and eyebrow raised in question.

He knew he had succeeded when the girl immediately flushed pink; shame at forgetting her task written all across her liberally-freckled face.

'A fourth year Ravenclaw had tried to teach himself to Conjure tea and somehow managed to turn his friend's hand into sugar tongs. I left them waiting for me in a spare classroom off the Charms corridor.'

Before Minerva swept from the ward to deal with the Ravenclaw miscreants, she obviously could not stop herself from meddling just a little in what Severus saw as _his_ affairs.

'Miss Weasley, I suggest you share this responsibility with Miss Granger. I believe she is trustworthy enough to be told all pertinent details. If you would come with me now, I will escort you and Athena to Gryffindor Tower via the Charms corridor.'

Though Severus glared at Minerva for her presumption, he did not object. There was almost a sort of karmic beauty in the insufferable Granger girl being saddled with his offspring for an unspecified amount of time. Although nothing could give him back the hours he had spent marking her excessively long essays, this might well lighten the debt in her favour. As a sort of extra bonus, although he, along with Minerva and Poppy, were each subjected to a completely unnecessary parting hug from Athena, Severus thanked all the deities above that she had confined her evening salutation to a general 'Goodnight' and a wave without adding anything incriminating like 'Daddy'.

Later, when Severus reflected on the circumstances surrounding his decision to leave the girl with Miss Weasley, he realised that his future self may very well have lost his mind. He could find no other probable reason for his daughter being so familiar with the Weasley girl at all. As to why he had chosen not to include in 'pertinent details' that he was Athena's father, his only justification was a firm idea that the longer it remained a secret, the better.

Miss Weasley aside, Severus had other problems. Unlike the Muggle equivalent, which relies on DNA, the magical paternity test was old blood magic, and reflective of the highly patriarchal nature of Wizarding society in that its original intent was to prove the legitimacy of a child to inherit the father's estate. It was also usually painfully obvious who the mother of a given child was. Therefore, though it was possible to determine that Severus was indeed the girl's father, there was no such equivalent to either identify or locate her mother. Worse, Minerva had forbidden him from asking any more questions of Athena concerning her mother, merely telling him in a lofty manner which was distinctly reminiscent of the former Headmaster that 'some knots are best left to unravel themselves'.

The whole mess disturbed Severus. He had never imagined himself as a father, for a whole host of reasons. Unlike what most of his peers assumed, he did not actively dislike children. If his experience over the years with certain Slytherin parents was any indication, he was quite firmly convinced of the notion that no matter how obnoxious a child is, their parents will inevitably believe the sun shines out of their nether regions.

Truth be told, his indifference and doubt stemmed more from the fact that he had never been involved with any woman whom he liked well enough reproduce with, and more practically, that he had nothing of consequence to pass onto an heir anyway. Reasons aside, the point remained that having never imagined himself as a father, he was at a total loss in trying understand the hows, whys and wherefores of the child he had so unceremoniously been saddled with.

The only true frame of reference Severus had to draw on was the more paternal role he had played with the Slytherin students over the years. After all, though he had sacrificed much to protect Potter, he had hardly been seen as much of a father figure by the boy. The mere thought of taking such a role with James Potter's son almost made him ill. However, he would never let it be said that he was not just as fiercely protective of his snakes as Minerva was over her lion cubs. The unfair docking of other Houses' points was part of this. Slytherin House often stood alone, so it was largely up to him to make his students feel at home at least within their own house, if not quite in the general scheme of things at the school. However, whereas all his students had a healthy respect for him, it was clear even from his little contact with the child that she did not play by the rules.

Firstly, the manner in which she had demanded to know her whereabouts was something he would have never tolerated in any student of his, and she had not so much as even blinked with nervousness when attempting to turn the tables on him for her own benefit. To put the icing on the cake, despite her willingness to go with Miss Weasley, she had seemed genuinely fond of him, forcing her little arms around him in a farewell hug despite his stiffness. There had definitely been some intangible line crossed, making him just 'Daddy' in her eyes. That, too, was unexpected. It was against his nature and preferences to raise a child with such informal manners. Even from a much younger age and despite the true affection they shared, Draco had known better than to address Lucius as anything other than 'Father'. This entire thing with Athena went against all his most basic notions and scared him shitless.

Sitting alone in front of his fireplace after having drunk half a bottle of Firewhisky, Severus' thoughts turned to Lily. He had been so convinced that he would always love her and her only, yet since Potter's defeat of the Dark Lord, he hadn't been able to dredge up the same feelings of adoration and deep guilt that had motivated him through two wars and over a decade in between. Having recently had his memories out of his head waiting for Potter to return them had been cathartic in a sense. It allowed him to gain some perspective. He had become detached enough to realise in fact, if not in feeling, that his enduring love for Lily was partially nurtured by Albus as a means of manipulating his pawn and was, at the very least, mildly unhealthy. In a perverse way, Athena was the final push he needed to finally let her go. Lily would always have a place in his heart as his first love, but the more he became accustomed to the idea of Athena, the more fixated Severus became on the little girl with eyes just like his and a faceless, wavy-haired woman whose features he could never distinguish.

*****

Athena was confused. Why weren't they using the Floo to go to Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's house in London like they always had before? Maybe 'London' was actually another part of Hogwarts. Then she would be able to visit them every day! Staying with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny was fun. Uncle Harry sometimes took her to fly a toy broomstick in a large field, which was something Mummy and Daddy certainly would never have allowed. However curious she might be, Athena was not one to ask too many questions, no matter how strangely Aunty Ginny might be acting at the present time. Not only did she trust her godmother, but Daddy had been very serious when he told her that only irritating dunderheads asked silly questions. It was far more intelligent to observe first and ask questions only when necessary.

On being lifted through a portrait hole and led up a flight of stairs into a circular room with beds in it, Athena realised her hypothesis must be correct, because Mummy was here with Aunt Ginny. Mummy worked in London, so why had she never brought Athena here before? She had a lot of explaining to do. If London was in Hogwarts, why was Daddy always complaining that it was too far to travel so they should all just stay at home? This room was obviously another part of Uncle Harry's house, because everything was all red and gold. Mummy said it 'brought back memories', but Daddy always snidely muttered that the colour scheme of Uncle Harry's house gave him a headache. Maybe this was the real reason why Daddy hated going to London so much.

If Mummy was here in Hogwarts/London, why had she not been in the Hospital Wing to see her like Daddy? Even more hurtful was that when Mummy saw her, she did not get up to hug Athena or even ask why she wasn't in her room. Despite her earlier upset, Athena had decided that if Mummy was nice to her again, she would be all charitable grace and forgive her. This was just unacceptable!

Fine. If Mummy was going to pretend Athena did not exist anymore, she would ignore Mummy too.

*****

Hermione was lying on her bed doing some absolutely fascinating 'light reading' about the First Goblin Rebellion from the perspective of a house-elf when she realised Ginny had been gone longer than would ordinarily be necessary to inspect any incident in the Charms corridor. It was times like this that Hermione could not entirely suppress the regret she still felt over having missed out on her last school year as a result of the war, and so was now obliged to attend with had been the year below her own. No one else in her year had even come close to her in anything, suitability for the Head Girl position included. However, just before she dismissed this train of thought as selfish and somewhat conceited, Ginny returned to their dormitory, holding the hand of an adorable little girl.

'Athena,' Ginny stated clearly for the child's benefit, 'this is my friend, Hermione.'

'Hello, Athena,' Hermione said warmly, greeting the child with a smile as she wondered who on earth she was and why she was with Ginny.

Unexpectedly, instead of smiling or even returning the greeting, the total of the little girl's response to Hermione's overture of friendship was a rather blank glance before she turned back to address Ginny.

'Aunt Ginny, where am I to sleep tonight?'

Hermione missed their entire exchange through her shock, her mind asking random questions in no particular order. _What could possibly have prompted the strange reaction of the girl when they met? Had a student experienced a significant reduction in age due to the accident? If so, why was she not in the care of a Ravenclaw prefect? Were her memories intact, or had her mind regressed with her body? _This seemed to be the most logical explanation, since Hermione could not imagine that the girl had any real reason to ignore her. Though Hermione was very far from expecting everyone to love her, she could not help feeling a pang of hurt at such a rejection. It was difficult for her to accept things without a clear reason, and as such she grasped eagerly at the first solution that came to her.

When Ginny had finally gotten the little girl tucked into one of the spare beds in the dormitory and cast a Muffliato charm in her general direction, she came and sat next to Hermione with an uncharacteristically serious expression on her normally cheerful face.

'What is it, Ginny?' asked Hermione urgently. 'How did one of those Ravenclaws end up like that?'

Ginny flapped her hands impatiently at Hermione's suggestion. 'Don't be daft, Hermione,' she said in a low voice. 'No student could have done this! Athena is from the future. Apparently she came here using her mother's Time-Turner. Professors McGonagall and Snape know, as well as Madam Pomfrey, but we all have to try to find out how she got it and why she's here. Right as we left the Hospital Wing, I heard Pomfrey and Snape just about to start arguing about who her mother is. I don't even think they know.'

'What about her father?' asked Hermione, who was by now unashamedly intrigued by the puzzle this presented. To her disappointment, Ginny started shaking her head.

'I don't know. They didn't tell me. I only offered to look after her because she seems to like me. Honestly, I think the professors are at a bit of a loss what to do with her. I didn't think they would actually accept my offer. I mean, who ever heard of a student acting as a babysitter? It's not that I mind, but it seems like a lot of responsibility. McGonagall just said to tell you about it and that she would talk to me or send me a note tomorrow about what to do with her during the day. The rest of the school can know that there is a child here, but not that she's from the future. I think I'm in over my head here, 'Mione.'

As she listened to Ginny's ranting, Hermione was filled with intense curiosity and an almost painful confusion. _The future! How many years in the future was she from? How did she get here?_ Her mind turned to piecing the easier parts of the puzzle first. She looked nothing like a Weasley, so 'Aunt' was more likely an honorary title indicating a close relationship with the child's parents rather than a blood relationship. Since Hermione had noticed the child's hair and eyes were quite dark, she toyed with the idea that Athena might possibly be Harry's child. However not being able to find even a trace of Ginny's features in the girl, she was careful not to betray her thoughts in this direction to her friend. It was, of course, also highly improbable that if she was Harry's child by another woman, she would know and be fond of Ginny at all.

'I'll help you with her, Gin,' Hermione stated reassuringly. 'I'm sure that together she won't present too much of a problem, though I do wonder why she refused to acknowledge me earlier. Did she recognise you immediately when she saw you?'

'Yes, she almost knocked me over, she ran to me so fast,' Ginny replied, making Hermione's heart sink just a little bit further. _Just how could this girl know Ginny but not herself? Surely after all they had been through, she and Ginny would still be friends in the future._

When Hermione voiced her concerns to her friend, Ginny valiantly tried to persuade her that there might be many completely innocent reasons for this, ranging from Hermione having a fantastic job abroad to Ginny running a childcare centre in the future so the girl wasn't related to them at all. However, none of them satisfied the weight on Hermione's mind that something awful must have happened to her. Her chin rose with the firmness of her conviction. She would pool all her vast mental resources towards aiding Ginny in her other task of finding out how the girl had come to be in possession of her mother's Time-Turner, hoping fervently to pick up some clue about her own circumstances in the future along the way.


	5. Chapter 5

_CH 5 - Monday 'Little Slytherin'_

_AN: Thanks again to all those who reviewed and to my wonderful, wonderful beta AnachronisticAnglophile – thanks for being so patient and taking the time to debate the finer points of Severus' character with me, I enjoy our little disputes immensely!!! I'm also really glad so many of you like Athena – it's definitely a lot of fun to write her =)_

______________

While Severus scowled over his toast on Monday morning, he kept a subtle eye on the doors leading into the Great Hall, waiting to see whether the Weasley girl had managed to keep his daughter alive overnight. After a few hours of uninterrupted reflection before dawn, he had concluded that he was indeed intrigued by Athena, in particular by the insight she could give him into the wellbeing of his future self. If he was brutally honest, looking into the small child's eyes had stirred emotions in him that he could not readily define. The only things he knew were that she actually made him want to challenge life-long assumptions concerning his potential, speculate about what he what could be and have, and take chances to ensure the most favourable outcome for his life in general.

Unfortunately for Severus, such near-sentimental musings were prematurely shattered when a small figure dressed in magically-miniaturised Gryffindor robes burst through the very doors he had been watching. Upon seeing him up at the High Table, she squealed, 'Daddy, look at me! Look what I'm wearing!'

This in itself may not have been so bad, had Athena not also succeeded in evading the attempts of both Miss Weasley and Miss Granger to grab her before running as fast as her little legs could take her towards Severus himself.

Momentarily stunned, Severus could do nothing to stop the awed silence that settled over the room's occupants like an oxygen-proof fire blanket when Athena reached him and promptly sat on his lap. As he gritted his teeth and willed himself not to forcibly remove her, Minerva rose smoothly to explain that young Miss Snape would be staying at Hogwarts for a few days. As the Hall erupted into whispers, no doubt about what unlucky woman could possibly have given the Evil Git a daughter, Severus was distracted by Athena pulling on the front of his robes to get a response.

'Don't you like my robes, Daddy?' she asked in a small voice. Pulling himself together, Severus made sure to throw a spectacularly menacing glare at the Hall in general before giving the child an appraising glance.

'You look very grown up, Athena,' was his curt reply.

Undaunted by his cool praise, Athena gave him a beaming smile. Then, to his immense satisfaction, particularly because Minerva had just regained her seat and thus overheard Athena's words, the little girl accosted him with the following proposition.

'Can you change the colours for me, Daddy? I want to be a Slytherin.'

Without further ado, Severus Snape flicked his wand at his daughter, changing the red to green, gold to silver and the emblem on her robes to mirror those on the breasts of his own students.

Yes, she was definitely his daughter, and very intriguing indeed.

*****

Hermione thought she might faint when little Athena so boldly revealed her ancestry to the entire school. However, a wave of understanding simultaneously washed through her mind, putting her at ease. The girl's relationship with a man like the difficult Potions Professor was certainly enough to explain her oddities in manner the night before. It must be possible to inherit taciturnity and sourness.

Had she ever contemplated the issue, Hermione might have expected such an apparently cold and bitter man as Professor Snape to dismiss the child or at least treat her in the same brash and offensive manner as he did his students. However, any such preconceived notions she had completely dissolved when she saw the Professor smirk broadly, change Athena's robes to Slytherin colours, and allow her to eat breakfast from his own plate. Hermione was unwillingly impressed by how he made it seem like nothing was out of the ordinary at all.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Ginny had received a note from Professor McGonagall.

_Dear Miss Weasley and Miss Granger,_

_The Hogwarts Faculty is sincerely grateful for your selfless offer to care for the child, Athena, while she remains at Hogwarts. I would like you to know that if at any time her care becomes too great a burden, you must notify me immediately so I can make alternate arrangements. _

_As you know, Athena is to accompany you to each of your classes, in which time the relevant Professor will assist you in keeping her occupied in some way. There is one exception. Professor Snape has insisted that she not be present for Potions classes, given the danger inherent in several of the ingredients used by N.E.W.T. students. I have arranged for Madam Pomfrey to relieve you of your responsibility during these periods, so all you need do is take Athena to the Hospital Wing before your class starts. I have also deemed it appropriate that Professor Snape spend his free periods caring for Athena. They are:_

_Monday 2-3pm_

_Tuesday 3-4 pm_

_Wednesday 1-2 pm_

_Thursday 2-3pm_

_Friday 1-2pm_

_Please escort Athena to his office at the relevant times. _

_During your time spent with Athena, it would be helpful if you could attempt to find out more about Athena's own personal history. I am sure I can trust you not to harass or otherwise upset the child as you do so._

_If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask for guidance, either from myself or any other member of the Hogwarts Staff you deem appropriate. The Faculty has been informed of the situation in full. Please keep your knowledge of her circumstances to yourselves. I will notify you of appropriate times to relay this information back to me._

_Best of luck,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

'Wow,' breathed Ginny once she had read the note, handing it to her bushy-haired friend.

Ever true to form, Hermione skimmed the note in record time, though she did stop to raise an eyebrow at Professor McGonagall's oblique manner of referring to the relationship between Professor Snape and Athena. 'Appropriate' he spend some time caring for her indeed! It actually did not surprise Hermione that Professor Snape had banned Athena from his classroom, but all things considered, she was willing to think the best of him for it. Hogwarts in general was really a rather unsafe place, even for children old enough to attend as students.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by Ginny's horrified expression, and she caught up with the events that had just taken place at the High Table.

'Hermione,' she whispered frantically, tugging at her friend's sleeve, '_how_ the bloody hell does _Snape's daughter_ know _me_?'

'Professor Snape,' Hermione corrected automatically, though her heart was not really in it. She understood Ginny's concern, though she could not participate in it fully. In all honesty, Athena being Professor Snape's daughter made Hermione feel much more at ease about being unacquainted with the child, though she was still by no means completely satisfied as to why she had been so summarily dismissed.

The girls formed a simple plan. Their starting point would be to find out why Athena had dismissed Hermione the night before. As per Professor McGonagall's warning, they would be subtle. Hermione would make the effort during the day to talk to the girl while looking after her, and Ginny would observe her responses. Later in the evening, depending on Hermione's success, they both would either attempt to coax some answers out of Athena, or Ginny would do it alone while Hermione disillusioned herself and observed.

Hermione found that her discussion with Athena got her no closer to understanding the girl.

'Would you like to hold my hand so you don't get lost on the way to Transfiguration?' Hermione asked after breakfast.

Athena only gave her a look strikingly similar to Professor Snape at his most disdainful before flouncing off to acquire the same service Hermione had offered from Ginny instead.

Later, after Charms, Hermione tried again by offering Athena one of the silk hair ribbons they had been learning how to magically alter and arrange into miniature works of art. 'See this ribbon?' she asked Athena, 'Why don't I make it into a bow and put it in your hair? I think it will look very pretty.'

'It's the wrong colour,' Athena replied flatly. Even when Hermione had changed it to flash all the colours of the rainbow, the girl refused to even touch the ribbon, let alone let it be placed in her hair.

Finally at lunch time, in last-ditch attempt to earn the girl's favour, Hermione gently tried to help her to the dishes her little arms could not reach.

"Don't!" the girl screamed, leaving Hermione suitably irritated and chastened.

Obviously, from the sum of her interactions with Athena throughout that day, Hermione was no closer than she had been the night before to unearthing the reason for the girl's unwavering indifference towards her. In each class she and Ginny shared, Athena was polite and fairly quiet. More impressively, she managed to stay reasonably alert for a person who couldn't possibly understand the majority of happenings in a N.E.W.T. class. Hermione felt the need to grudgingly accept that the Professor Snape of the future, or perhaps his mysterious spouse, must be a fairly competent parent. As things considered, the only blip in Athena's otherwise perfect behavioural record was that she steadfastly balked at Hermione's every attempt to engage her in conversation and refused to let her help with anything.

*****

When the time for his penance in the form of enforced father-daughter bonding time arrived, Severus tried to listen as Miss Weasley rambled on about Athena's inexplicable distrust of Granger, but his mind was almost entirely focused on what he methods he would employ to trick the child into revealing information that afternoon. Unlike the naïve and trusting Gryffindors, Severus had no illusions that the child was anything other than a fairly skilful manipulator. He would treat her as he would any unknown quantity. Of course, her age was a factor he would take into account, but he would be damned before he became one of those soft-hearted fools who could be bested by an intelligent child. More to the point was the fact that, unlike others, Athena very possibly had some little knowledge of his tricks already.

Dismissing the talkative Weasley as soon as there was a sufficiently long pause in her recount of the day's events, Severus decided he would first approach Athena as if she were a student he was disciplining. Placing her in the chair opposite his desk, he observed her closely for a minute or two after settling in his own chair. By the time most students' eyes were furtively scanning the walls, looking for an escape route, it was clear that Athena did not seem at all disturbed by the power imbalance he was trying to create. She just sat quietly where he had placed her, looking at him through wide, innocent eyes, gently swinging her legs in the air. Rather than get annoyed, Severus felt slightly smug. Of course, any child of his would have to be exceptional. Just as he decided to break the silence, she beat him to the punch.

'Daddy, can we go for a walk to the lake like last week?' Although it was December, the weather recently had been uncommonly mild. There was snow on the ground, but the sun shone strongly enough during the day to make outside ventures quite comfortable even without the excessive use of Warming Charms. Curtly nodding his assent, Severus conjured a cloak for her and they set off.

As it turned out, Athena became far more communicative the minute they started walking.

'I had lots of fun with Aunt Ginny today, Daddy,' Athena said as she confidently led the way through the dungeon corridors up to the Entrance Hall. 'I saw lots of magic you never showed me before. There was one boy, Daddy, he grew ears like a cat!'

Severus noted that Athena seemed to know exactly where she was going. He inferred from this that he must still live at Hogwarts, even though to do so with a family was unprecedented.

Despite being _giggled_ at the previous day for enquiring about information he was supposed to know, Severus was in no mood to take the opposite approach and sift through the veritable morass of trivial inanities Athena uttered to find useful information. He decided to walk a fine line between carefully re-directing Athena's thoughts if she strayed too far into the irrelevant, yet allowing her to reveal what she would without prompts.

In the middle of a story about how she wanted a unicorn for her birthday, Severus found an ideal place to step in.

'I wanted a unicorn when I was young, but my mother said I was too little, even though I was going to be seven,' he said slyly. It was a blatant lie, but how was Athena to know the difference? She rose to the bait admirably.

'But Daddy,' she protested with a crestfallen expression, 'don't you think five is old enough? I don't want to wait until I'm older.'

So. Athena must be four years old at the present time. All in all, his success using this method of interrogation was varied. Among other things, he learnt that her favourite colour was green, and though she mentioned a friend or two, it did not appear that she had any siblings or cousins. The most illuminating aspect of their conversation was that whenever he subtly directed her thoughts to Hadrian or Mummy, Athena had grown quiet and sulky until he changed the subject. One such instance was more memorable than the others.

'Is Hadrian one of your friends?' Severus had asked in a bored tone, quite unprepared to hear anything out of the ordinary.

'No,' Athena had said, in a tone as vehement as it was possible for a four year old with a fairly sweet, high-pitched voice to command. She must have mistaken his perplexed frown for something else however, as she immediately changed her tune within a split second of glancing up at his face.

'I didn't mean it, Daddy' she started pleading, looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes. 'He's really not that bad.'

While Severus merely nodded his acceptance of this bizarre concession, Athena hung her head and did not say anything more until they reached the castle doors.

As they walked into the Great Hall for dinner, Athena turned to Severus with a mixture of hurt and confusion on her face and begged to be allowed to stay with 'Aunt Ginny' again. Even as he assented, Severus had begun to harbour some significant doubts about his future home life. They ate dinner in relative quiet and he walked her to the Gryffindor table at the end of the meal.

Lying in bed that night, a few pieces of what Athena had (or rather had not) said clicked and Severus was filled with disgust and self-loathing. What if he and the girl's mother were not actually together? It stood to reason that he might have gotten a woman pregnant, and though she had allowed him to be part of Athena's life, she was not actually his woman. That he could not entirely dismiss the possibility that his relative emotional unavailability had pushed her away was likewise disturbing. The thought that he may have callously dismissed this unknown woman was repugnant to his ideas of honour, and that this 'Hadrian' was probably her lover or even her husband was only further provocation. Severus simply could not imagine how he had let such a situation had come into being. He was a possessive man by nature, and the thought of another man raising his child was not one that sat well with him.

Although Severus was well aware that he was no angel, he had much more faith in his own judgment and self-control than that of anybody else. _Had this 'Hadrian' character likewise proven his worth by lying to the Dark Lord and living to tell the tale?_ Severus thought not. It seemed obvious to him that Athena would be safer with him than anyone else. Just as he was settling nicely into a fit of jealous brooding that he was yet again being tossed to the side for some totally incompetent and likely arrogant prat, several more pieces of information tumbled into place in Severus' mind to form an altogether darker picture.

An image of his father screaming at his mother for some minor infraction fleeted through his mind and connected with the spite in Athena's voice when she spoke of Hadrian, bringing back all too many childhood memories. Giving himself a hard mental shake to halt the inevitable descent into a round of painful soul-searching and self-examination that usually only occurred on the anniversary of his mother's death, Severus' white hot rage at the thought that Athena may hate the man partly because she had witnessed similar scenes brought him completely and fully back to the present. Even worse, it now occurred to him that the fear in her eyes might have indicated that she herself had been a victim. Severus would enjoy slowly torturing and murdering this 'Hadrian' if he had so much as raised his voice at Athena, notwithstanding that he had never laid a finger on her.

Severus sank deeper and deeper into such macabre thoughts until he providentially remembered that in direct opposition to his own childhood self, Athena appeared full of confidence, generally quite happy and extraordinarily fond of himself. More importantly, it did not seem to be an act or compensation for a joy that was actually lacking in her life. He must be doing something right.

Never entirely able to dispel his suspicion and doubt, Severus vowed that if nothing new had come to light and dispelled this ugly notion before he saw Athena the next afternoon, he would throw caution to the wind and use Legilimency on her before magically locking away those ugly memories if need be. He would be damned before he would allow any child of his to suffer the way he did.

*****

Disillusioned and silenced, Hermione's heart felt like it would break as she heard little Athena sob her heart out to Ginny later that evening. Having finally found some sort of reason, albeit an incomplete one, for the girl's troubles, Hermione was more than willing to indulge her oddities and resolved to continue her efforts to befriend her in the future.

It had been notoriously difficult to get Athena to open up. _In that respect at least,_ Hermione thought wryly, _she is most definitely Professor Snape's daughter._

'Athena,' Ginny had asked, in her most patient and soothing tone, 'something hasn't been right all day. Whatever's the matter?'

'Nothing,' Athena replied, though she seemed more petulant now than absolutely unwilling to talk as with Hermione earlier.

'You know you can tell me anything you like,' Ginny coaxed. 'I promise I can keep a secret.'

Athena took a few moments to frown in thought before replying.

'Only if you promise not to tell Mummy or Daddy,' she stipulated.

When Ginny assented to this, Athena seemed to deflate and lose confidence for the first time since the girls had met her. As a look of deep misery settled on her face and tears started welling up in her dark eyes, it really hit Hermione just how very young this little girl was. It was just that she acted so maturely at times, it was easy to forget that she did not understand everything happening around her.

'Aunt Ginny,' Athena eventually whispered, 'I did something very naughty.'

When her tears actually started to fall, Ginny gathered her up in her arms and hugged her tightly, which seemed to give Athena the strength she needed to plunge into her story about how her mother never paid her any attention since the new baby had been born, and how she had tried to hurt her mother by taking her Time-Turner. Hermione struggled to keep her place and not interfere in Athena's heart-to-heart with Ginny. Though the matter itself seemed fairly straightforward, the sadness within the child was nothing short of distressing as she struggled to articulate her loneliness and guilt between hiccups. Once the floodgates had been opened, it had all come tumbling out in a manner that took a long time for both Ginny and Hermione to make any sense of.

Though she could not empathise directly with Athena's situation, Hermione knew how it felt to be replaced. When she and Ron had gotten together at the end of the war, it had only taken a few months before he had started paying more attention to a more 'willing' witch he had met while on a reconnaissance mission in Ireland. He had even had the indecency to start the affair before he had ended things with Hermione, which was a blow to her feelings of self-worth no matter how much she convinced herself he was not worth the heartache. The only positive outcome that came of the whole debacle was that Ginny's disgust with her brother had the effect of bringing her and Hermione closer than ever.

Long after Athena lay quiet in Ginny's arms, lost to the waking world, Hermione was still considering this strange little girl and her problems. No matter how Athena acted towards herself, Hermione had been truly touched by how dearly Athena seemed to miss her mother. In a fit of determination similar to the one that had resulted in such endeavours as S.P.E.W, Hermione vowed she would find a way to help Athena, even if she had to journey into the future to do so.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Thanks to all readers/reviewers and my brilliant beta, AnachronisticAnglophile!!!_

_If anyone can tell me what books or even which children's author inspired the names 'Mari Jenkins' and 'Michael Fisher' – I will…hmm…respect you above all other readers/reviewers?? =P_

_Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine – it all belongs to JKR._

******

Athena was markedly quieter and more introspective the morning after her great unburdening of sorrows. This first became apparent at breakfast-time, when Hermione attempted yet again to assist the little girl in reaching the bacon.

'Would you like me to get that for you, Athena?' Hermione asked gently.

Lo and behold! For the first time since she and Hermione had had been introduced, Athena did not choose to view this offer as just another excuse to sharpen her selective hearing skills. Rather than turn up her nose in distaste or glare at Hermione, she actually nodded her little head in acquiescence and pushed her plate towards the older girl.

When Athena's new-found politeness did not wear off by the middle of the day, Hermione felt the occasion almost merited a happy dance. To be sure, Athena had yet to actually speak to her, however, given the state of their relationship only the day before, Hermione counted every small nod or shake of Athena's head as a decisive victory.

When the owls made their daily circuit of the Hall, Hermione and Ginny were quite surprised to receive a fresh note from the Headmistress, summoning them to a meeting to be held in her office directly after lunch. What, they wondered, could possibly have arisen such a short time into Athena's stay? Although the unusually grave tone of the note was not wholly out of character coming from Professor McGonagall, the girls were a little perturbed by the fact that during this little conference, Athena was to be left with Hagrid. Though there was no doubt his heart was in the right place, Hermione was fairly sure that what with his continuing propensity to dote on dangerous creatures, he would not have been Professor McGonagall's first choice of carer for any young child.

Any worries the girls had about Athena and Hagrid were short-lived. Although N.E.W.T. classes were always demanding, it became dangerously clear upon entering Professor Snape's dungeon classroom that not even an alchemic-breakthrough would sweeten the Professor's mood that morning.

However, nothing seemed particularly amiss at first. Professor Snape merely put instructions up on the board and curtly ordered them to begin, as was his usual wont when they had covered the theory in an earlier class. No one so much as even blinked when he snarled at poor Mari Jenkins for chopping her ingredients too loudly and glared at Michael Fisher for daring to ask a question of his desk-partner in a low voice. It was really only after he had made an example of Draco Malfoy that the class caught on that something was not quite right.

Draco had been working quietly, feeling distinctly under the weather and sorry for himself, when he gave in to the sudden urge to sneeze. Quickly turning away from his cauldron, he was unfortunate enough to attract the attention of Professor Snape with the noise.

'Mr Malfoy,' Snape malevolently whispered, 'you will remove yourself from my classroom _immediately_. When you arrive in the Hospital Wing for some Pepper-Up, you will take the opportunity to inform Madam Pomfrey that you are offering her your services as a bed-pan cleaner every evening this week. Is that understood?'

As they watched Draco's face turn slightly green before he scarpered from the classroom, the entire class had an out-of-body surreal moment in which all the students somehow managed to communicate without uttering a single word. They simultaneously decided that in the interest of preserving their remaining leisure time until Christmas, they should not allow the Professor's hideous temper to deteriorate any further.

Never before had a Potions lesson ever been so silent.

Given this start to their day, it was much to Ginny and Hermione's dismay that they were greeted at the top of the spiral staircase by the sight of Professor Snape stalking the Head's office like a caged tiger when they made their way there directly after lunch. That Professor McGonagall only observed his restless pacing with an expression of deep concern quite dramatically heightened their combined confusion and unease. However, their suspense was of short duration, for in true Gryffindor fashion, Minerva did not waste time with pleasantries, but was all business from the moment the girls took their seats.

'Professor Snape has some rather disturbing notions about what may have caused Athena's journey through time. Before we discuss them, however, I _must_ know whether either of you found out anything about a person in Athena's time named 'Hadrian'_._'

*****

Severus' mood had only worsened after a night of restless sleep and morning classes full of idiotic dunderheads. _Doesn't Draco know that bodily fluids should NEVER be mixed with mind-altering potions? _ All throughout the morning, he had been trying his damnedest to keep the lid on the simmering cauldron that was his anger, just waiting to boil over and explode. It would be absolutely mortifying if he could not steady the magic he felt rising up within him such that he let it burst out like a frightened child.

For the first time in his life Severus felt some sort of unnatural kinship and respect for all the various bleeding-heart Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs he had necessarily been acquainted with over the years. If this was what it felt like to be over-emotional all the time, they all deserved his sincerest sympathies. What a tiring mess _caring_ was.

Abruptly, he stopped pacing, fixing his gaze on the two Gryffindor girls as if hoping to read their minds from their countenances alone. As he briefly considered whether either Miss Granger or Miss Weasley knew Occlumency, Severus wondered not for the first time whether it had been wise to share his thoughts with Minerva at all. Things would no doubt go smoother with her presence, but it was also likely that she would not think to ask all the questions he wanted answered.

Deciding to just stop bloody second-guessing a decision already made, he ccccast such irrelevant thoughts away in haste. If this was to be a profitable exchange of information, he needed to read the girls' faces without distractions.

He registered that Miss Granger neither paled nor flinched at the mention of Hadrian; merely eyeing him with wary concern for a moment before replying. This was too equivocal to construe either way. She could just as easily be concerned that he would not like to hear the truth as totally clueless as to where these questions tended.

To his surprise, Miss Granger's tone as she replied to Minerva was nothing short of calm. 'He is her newborn brother. As we understand it, Athena was feeling neglected and attempted to exact some sort of revenge on her mother by playing with the Time-Turner. Apparently she was told not to touch it.'

_If she can act all relaxed and composed, why in the Nine Hells did the girl look at me like that?_

Forcibly pushing this oddity from his mind, Severus took his time to match this explanation against what Athena had told i_him/i, _checking every phrase he could remember. When he found this new story to be plausible, Severus collapsed into a chair with palpable relief and an overwhelming feeling of ill usage. _Athena is fine_, he thought almost sourly. His daughter had ordinary childhood problems, which he had just spent an entire night and morning with nerves wound tight enough to kill over. Forget Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, parenthood was officially the most demanding taskmaster known to wizardkind.

While the Granger girl had been focused on Minerva, Ginny Weasley had been carefully watching his own expressions, and judging by the look on her face, was shocked at the lack of his habitual stoicism.

'In her defence, I think she regrets it,' Weasley added quietly. 'She really misses her mother, so I think she ought to go back to her as soon as possible.'

_No matter what she saw, does the foolish girl really think that something so trite will mollify me?_

While he continued to mentally utter snide invectives against both girls, Snape's mental gears suddenly skipped a cog and screeched to a halt.

_Wait._

Assuming he was capable of a functional relationship, was the substance of what Miss Granger said that he also had a son? _Morgana's polka-dot knickers! What kind of heinous accident happens to me in the future? _

Severus had always assumed that if he were ever to have a child, it would be just that--_one_ child. What use could he possibly have for more than a single heir to carry a snippet of his soul to immortality? To Severus, two children seemed like a brood to rival the seven Weasleys! However, before he could come up with a reasonable explanation, Granger just had to continue in typical know-it-all fashion.

'Although we don't know exactly what is motivating Athena's more recent behaviour, I have a theory that she might have transferred some of her frustration with her mother onto me just…to get it off her chest, so to speak.'

'Since you seem so _full _of insight, Miss Granger, what would you suggest we do about this situation given we have no ideawho Athena's mother is?' Snape acidly returned.

Whilst he had long since schooled his face into emotionless indifference, it was only with a supreme effort that he refrained from rolling his eyes. There truly seemed to be no way of halting the girl's misguided interference.

Ironically, Granger only frowned in reply. _The first and only time I actually might have some interest in listening to her inane babbling, she fails to deliver_, Severus scoffed internally_. _ Predictably however, Minerva quickly came to the aid of her favourite student before he could verbalise his thoughts on the matter.

'Enough, Severus,' she said, throwing a brief, yet clearly exasperated expression in his direction. 'Since Athena seems to be in no immediate danger, I suggest she continue to be given the option of staying with Miss Weasley.' With Ginny's assent, she continued, 'Severus, it may be prudent for_ you_ to make some preparations in case Athena wishes to return to the dungeons at some stage. I ask that you not refuse her if that be the case. In the interests of not unduly worrying the child, should she begin to ask after her mother or brother, they are visiting London and will return shortly. This will spare her emotions temporarily, I hope. Also—Severus_,_ dostop staring at the ceiling; you know very well that Albus somehow fused that Lemon Drop there after a disagreement with the Governors twenty years ago—I have some new information to share regarding the likely duration of Athena's visit. An Unspeakable who examined the Time-Turner suggested that Athena would return to the future on her own, without our aid or assistance.' Minerva frowned as she irritably added, 'He refused to give me any more information.'*

Severus was positively fuming by the end of that little speech. How dare the woman suggest that he might actually turn away his four-year-old daughter if she asked to stay with him! She, ofall people, should know that he was not completely heartless, and more than capable of taking care of his charges. He had even extended that bloody courtesy to James Potter's spawn. By this time, he had most conveniently forgotten that only two days before, he kicked up a fuss over letting Athena visit his classroom and complained about spending his free time with her.

'If that is quite all, Minerva, I will take my leave,' he snapped, rising abruptly before immediately sweeping out the door and towards the dungeons. _ How would she like it if I bloody well ordered her to redecorate her quarters? That old hag has lived drowning in tartan for the last fifty years!_

*****

That afternoon, between finishing her Charms essay and beginning her Arithmancy homework in the library, Hermione was at leisure to ruminate over the events of the day. She had been particularly alarmed at the way Professor Snape had behaved in the Headmistress' office, particularly as regards what Ginny had told her later about his obvious relief.

In all of her acquaintance with the prickly Professor, she had only ever seen him let his mask slip for major anomalies, usually involving Harry or the surviving Marauders. Hermione had no idea what kinds of mental shields Snape still employed, not to mention that she also lacked the death-wish required to attempt any such survey. However, it was clear enough that something must have happened the night before to make him so extremely agitated. It was so rare for him not to be in complete control of his expressions and body language. Now she was intrigued.

_Just who did he think Hadrian was?_

Based on his reaction when he learned that the person in question was a baby, she supposed that he had presumably imagined Hadrian to be someone dangerous. This thought made her smile indulgently. i_He's really a protective father./i _In truth, she found his reaction admirable.

Following this thought process further, Hermione was filled with curiosity about the ongoing mystery surrounding the identity of Athena's mother. Although it might not be difficult to imagine a woman who doted on her new baby, Hermione had trouble forming a mental image of someone who would willingly devote her life to Professor Snape, who Professor Snape would likewise tolerate. Lily Evans may have captured the Professor's heart as a boy—Harry had divulged _that _much to her about their teacher's memories—but Hermione was not convinced that someone like her would be suitable for the man Snape had become.

After hours of these musings, with her Arithmancy homework long forgotten, Hermione's idea of Professor Snape's perfect match was a crazy amalgamation of opposite characters. She would somehow simultaneously embody Professor McGonagall's intelligence and Molly Weasley's ability to love, with a dose of Slytherin cunning to keep things balanced. Though Hermione would not claim to be an expert on Professor Snape, her experience of him made it probable that the woman would also have the quintessential qualities of Hufflepuff – forgiveness, patience, and acceptance.

Hermione's last thought before drifting off to sleep that night was the dubious idea that perhaps Professor Snape had a heretofore-undiscovered taste for the exotic. It seemed clear to her that this woman could not possibly exist, and so he might be better off looking for her amongst the ranks of nymphs and angels.

******

_*AN: I'm quite sure it's mentioned somewhere in canon that all the Ministry Time- Turners were destroyed when Harry etc were there at end of OotP. Assume for the purposes of this story that future Hermione and her fellow Unspeakables have only resurrected and continued what they were already working on at that time – hence the past Unspeakable has quite a good idea what is going on. If you remember all the way back to Chapter 1, you will recall that the experiments they had been doing make the time-travel impermanent. _


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Thanks a million to my fabulous beta, AnachronisticAnglophile!!! I didn't like this chapter much until you helped me fix it—now it's much better!_

Again, I really appreciate all of you who read and review!

Disclaimer: JKR owns the Harry Potter universe. I'm not making any money off this.

*****

Tuesday 'Apologies'

After meeting with the three Gryffindor women who seemed so perversely intent on worming their way further and further into his privacy, Severus was in a particularly foul mood when the time came for him to shoulder his parental responsibilities and amuse Athena in the afternoon. Along with all the irritation and bitterness that came with the females' inquisition, to put the proverbial glacé cherry on the cupcake, two first year Hufflepuffs had the utter gall to compete for the dubious title of _The Next Neville Longbottom._ Despite his usual vigilance during class, they had somehow, with their profound incompetence, managed to simultaneously melt their cauldrons, causing their noxious soups to mix and react badly.

Very badly.

Of course, no one had actually been hurt by the accident, since the potions were only first-year level, but the resulting smell in his classroom was reminiscent of a public lavatory before the advent of sanitation. All attempts to banish or overpower the stench only made it worse. Were it not for his near-comprehensive knowledge of ingredient reactions and thoroughly low opinion of the students in question, Severus might almost have suspected some Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product was to blame.

As it was still unadvisable to bring Athena into his quarters, Severus found himself brought into an even darker mood by being forced out of doors into the December cold. Grumpily, he disregarded the fact that, snow aside, it was actually quite a fine day. The only redeeming feature of the entire exercise was that his companion seemed to be brooding as deeply as he was. After greeting him with a quiet 'Hello, Daddy', they spoke not two words between them as they made their way down to the lake.

Alas, it was not to last. Just as Severus began to find some therapeutic calm in the bleak, snow-covered scenes before him, Athena broke the silence.

'Daddy,' she began tentatively, 'what do you do if you feel bad about not being very nice to someone?'

Severus blanched. He would rather explain to her where babies came from than deal with a question so deeply loaded with guilt and responsibility. It did_not_ help that his own experiences suggested that the appropriate course of action depended more on the nature and magnanimity of the person wronged than one's own feelings on the matter. Dealing with this sort of uncertainty went very much against his conditioning—in Slytherin House, if you happened to have a conscience, it was best to placate it in a way that did not depend on someone else's graciousness and justice.

For this reason, one part of him very much wanted to advise Athena that since apologies were not necessarily going to be accepted, she should not waste her time on such meaningless sentimentality. Despite Severus' new-found peace with the memory of Lily Evans, some scars ran deep. However, the annoying, more rational part of Severus' mind screamed that he should not ruin Athena's hope and innocence with his own bad memories. Either way, whether he was prepared for it or not, he was her father. Athena had no one in this time period to direct her judgment except for himself and a couple of overly-optimistic Gryffindors. Would it hurt her less to give her hope, or would it be better in the long run to squash it out of her? For the first time since she had arrived, Severus truly wished that Athena's as-yet-absentee mother would appear and take her off his hands.

In the end, grumbling under his breath that he was not cut out for fatherhood, he settled for a mixture of the two.

'You can apologise,' he lectured, 'but you cannot always be sure they will forgive you. Perhaps—'

'But Daddy,' she frowned, cutting him off, 'you _never _apologise!'

Severus huffed at the accusation, but was also somewhat comforted by it. The last few days had forced so many revelations on him that he was feeling a little uncomfortable in his own skin. Being forced to accept the conclusion that he had morphed into something completely 'other' in Athena's future had not been at all pleasant, but here was common ground at last! It seemed both then and now, he did apologise, just not in the way generally observed by society.

'Actions speak louder than words, child. Words are often insincere. It is far more meaningful to do something for the person, as opposed to merely telling them you are sorry.' That, and he found humbling himself in front of someone by saying the word 'sorry' like taking disgusting medicinal potions. If he could do without it, he would. Athena frowned again as she pondered his words.

'Mummy says if I have been bad, she will make sure I get coal instead of presents for Christmas. Will I definitely get presents if I say sorry?'

Severus wasn't sure whether to laugh or scowl at the turn this conversation was taking. Getting coal was a serious possibility for any magical child whose mother or father had a temper and an N.E.W.T. in Transfiguration. Again, he wondered at the identity of his future spouse. If the child's familiarity with Miss Weasley was any indication, she was not a Slytherin, yet clearly not above blackmailing her four year old child into good behaviour. On reflection, he decided that this was a good thing. He certainly did not want to be shackled to some idiotic wench that spoiled her children despite their lack of prudence. From what he had gathered, Athena had a nature very similar to his own, and as their present situation demonstrated, proper direction and management were absolutely essential until such time as her judgement caught up with her intellect.

'I am sure your apology will be conveyed to all relevant parties,' was his diplomatic answer. Best not to dispel her fear entirely.

Athena appeared to think this over carefully. 'If my presents are coal, you or Grandma Minnie can transfigure them back for me,' she finally decided, with a little nod strangely reminiscent of the headmistress at that moment.

With this statement, Severus felt his bad mood disappear and he could not resist a small smile. Athena was definitely her father's daughter.

*****

Even after talking to Daddy, Athena was still conflicted about how to best diffuse the situation she had created with Mummy. The problem was that Mummy did not even seem particularly angry with her. How strange. More confusing was that Hadrian seemed to have disappeared over the last few days. Oh well, that was probably for the best. Without his interference, it would be much easier to go back to basics and use the skills Daddy had taught her.

She repeated his favourite mantra:_ More missions fail because of bad planning than poor execution._

Just like the time when Daddy had taken Athena through all the shops in Diagon Alley looking for the perfect birthday present for Mummy, she could not expect to succeed right away. A good plan would be methodical, rational and precise.

Time to employ phase one: Observation.

*****

Although a few hours earlier, Hermione would have given anything for Athena to notice her existence, she found herself feeling quite disconcerted when the little girl just would not stop staring at her that evening while she studied in the common room. Hermione herself was attempting to read ahead in Defence and Herbology, while Ginny asked her at intervals for help with Transfiguration, and the girls had companionably settled into a secluded table with an evening of productive study in mind. However, such efforts were in vain. For the first time since they had met, Athena was not responding to Ginny, but seemed to focus her entire attention on Hermione's progress. Of course, this did nothing but hinder Hermione, since every time she moved to turn the page, she saw Athena's determined expression in her peripheral vision.

Truth be told, Athena's scrutiny caused a prickle at the back of her neck that reminded Hermione far too much of the way it felt when Professor Snape fixed his own obsidian eyes on her cauldron, just waiting to find some sort of mistake in the brew. Surely it was unnatural for such a young child to focus so intensely on anything. Even when Hermione closed her book with a snap and stared back, she was perplexed that Athena's gaze did not falter for even a second.

On closer inspection, Hermione realised her first impression had been faulty. While the colour and intensity of Athena's gaze was indeed similar to the Professor's, there were also marked differences. Most likely as a result of the Occlumency he constantly employed, Professor Snape's eyes were almost blank, like a shallow pool reflecting only a reflection of the world they perceived. At least, Hermione hoped it was from the Occlumency. She did not really want to consider what else would make someone's eyes quite so cold. Athena, on the other hand, had eyes so deep Hermione thought she could drown in them. As Hermione was drawn into the abyss, she found that there was an inner sparkle rising in them, and she tried to read what emotions were being revealed in their expression.

_Curiosity and deep thought,_ she decided, continuing to study the girl with at least equal interest.

As Hermione further tried to examine the girl's psyche through her eyes, she could see two pictures, one on top of the other. While her less charitable classmates found Athena a rather strange child, and dismissed the phenomenon as being an unavoidable result of being half vampire bat, Hermione scoffed at the notion. The girl was just complex.

First and foremost, Athena was still a young, innocent child. Despite her surprising level of self-direction, she needed to be nurtured and loved by Mummy and Daddy like any other little girl.

The other Athena was the old soul inside a child's body. Since Hermione herself had been almost friendless before Hogwarts, and during her school years served as keeper to Harry and Ron more often than not, she knew well the fate of those destined to mature before their peers. She fervently hoped that Athena would be as lucky as she was, rather than sharing the experience of students like Professor Snape, especially since she was his daughter. When she examined her feelings in more detail, Hermione found that for all his failings, she trusted the Professor to watch over his daughter. She was sure that he would have these thoughts and go to great lengths to support Athena if ever she needed it. With that last, Hermione decided there was no time to make friends like the present.

'Athena,' she addressed the child directly, 'it's getting late. Will you let me help you get ready for bed?'

It seemed that Athena was not quite ready to break her more or less habitual silence around Hermione, but nevertheless, she took the older girl's offered hand and went quietly up to the dormitory with her. Whatever she was thinking about, it was clear that Athena seemed to have let go of her ill will. In spite of how strange the staring was, Hermione could no longer trace any anger or distrust in the child's eyes.

A few minutes later, after Hermione had tucked the little girl into bed and wished her sweet dreams, she could have sworn she heard Athena say 'Goodnight' softly just as she closed the door and went back to the common room.


	8. Chapter 8

_A huge thanks to all my readers and reviewers - this is the chapter many of you have been hanging out for since about Chapter 2. I really hope you enjoy it!_

_Many hugs and kisses to my beta, AnachronisticAnglophile, who led me through by the hand when everything just wouldn't fit together. I can never thank you enough!!!_

*****

Wednesday 'An Incident in the Corridors'

_Bloody hell._

Ginny collapsed wearily onto her four-poster on Wednesday evening, emotionally and physically wrung dry by the day's events. Just as she was contemplating whether it was worth trekking down to the Prefects' Bathroom for a long soak, an insistent tapping on the window caught her attention.

_Harry,_ she thought affectionately. He was incredibly busy these days, tracking down the last Death Eaters who fled to the Continent for the Ministry. Though his letters were always short, any missive from her boyfriend was something to be treasured, no matter that they arrived at all hours of the day and night.

Unrolling the parchment, Ginny lay back onto her bed with high hopes that this letter would salvage what had otherwise been a very trying day.

_Gin,_

__

The match you played against Slytherin sounded fantastic! I wish I had been able to see you, but we're just so swamped at the moment, I didn't even have time to write until now.

I'm glad to hear you're well and not letting N.E.W.T.s get you down. How is Hermione coping? Last I wrote her, she seemed really stressed. I got the impression that she was trying to beat all her teachers' scores in their respective subjects. For some reason she hasn't replied since I told her I thought she was insane.

Looking forward to seeing you at Christmas.

Yours,

Harry

_P.S. Ron says hi._

As soon as she reached the part about Hermione, Ginny knew she would not be able to answer Harry's questions with anything like honesty at the present time. She had just left her friend in the Hospital Wing, for Merlin's sake!

_If only you knew, Harry. If only you knew._

*****

Earlier in the day, Ginny, Hermione, and Luna walked Athena down to Professor Snape's office in the afternoon as usual. However, on their way, they ran into the middle of a duel between a few sixth-years outside Firenze's classroom. To Hermione's practised eye, the duel seemed fairly serious, with hexes flying in every direction. The best that could be said for the situation was that the spells themselves looked to be nothing too out-of-the-ordinary.

In true Gryffindor fashion, Hermione and Ginny immediately stepped forward with wands drawn. However, in a rare moment of lucidity, Luna took one look at the scene and immediately skipped off to fetch a teacher. It was clearly too much to expect her to move at any speed resembling haste.

'_Expelliarmus!_' Ginny cried, aiming her wand at the nearest participant and hitting him square in the back. Unfortunately for Ginny, though wartime had changed her perception of what was 'sporting', these young, sheltered Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws did not see it quite the same way.

'Oi! Behind you!' called one of the other boys. Forgetting in the heat of the duel exactly whom he was about to hex, he aimed his wand at Ginny.

Leaping to her friend's defence with a quick Shield Charm, Hermione prayed to every deity that she could think of that Ginny would not lose her infamous Weasley temper and hex right back.

'Gin,' she called, 'we have to disarm them before they do each other any serious damage!'

'Agreed,' replied Ginny, grim and focussed. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, she had lost much of her taste for magical sparring. Though this by no means indicated that the Weasley boys were safe from their little sister's wrath when they richly deserved it, Ginny was now more inclined to avoid conflict rather than seek it out.

Stepping forward together, the girls' attention was caught by two central duellers, who, if their repartee was any indication, seemed to be the most emotionally invested in the conflict.

'You've no right to say such things about my sister!' yelled the Hufflepuff, stepping out of the way of a hex and sending another back.

'Your sister won't even talk to me since you told her I cheated in that last Quidditch match! It wasn't a foul!' replied the indignant Ravenclaw boy, only repelling the stream of hexes coming from his opponent with some difficulty.

_Seriously?_ asked Hermione internally. _Girls and Quidditch?!_

Just as Hermione and Ginny raised their wands, ready to disarm these two and hopefully end the fight, Hermione saw a jet of light in the corner of her eye, accompanied by a panicked scream.

Until that moment, no one realised that Athena had followed the older girls into the fray.

Lunging desperately to her left, Hermione managed to grab the child before the rogue spell hit, but only at the expense of her own safety. She vaguely registered the sensation of flying before the world went dark.

*****

On receiving Miss Lovegood's uncommonly rational and urgent summons, Severus wasted no time sweeping out of the dungeons to the ground floor Divination classroom. He would personally Crucio any Slytherin student who was idiotic enough to get involved in such a poorly-planned skirmish.

_For Merlin's sake! They're in full view of passers-by, it's bloody well daytime, and my office is less than five minutes away. If it's the fourth-years again, I swear I'll send every single one of those sorry excuses for wizards to Hagrid next time he needs live bait for one of his vile monsters. _

Even through such vicious thoughts of what he would do to the utter fools who had thus disturbed his leisure hour, Severus' heart-rate spiked when he heard Athena's scream from just around the corner. He immediately quickened his pace to a full-pelt sprint. Though he was accustomed to expecting the worst, and was quite sanguine about his ability to deal with the most terrible catastrophes, no amount of experience could stop him from freezing for a second the moment he reached the scene.

It was truly like watching one of those Muggle-movie train wrecks.

Time seemed to slow down as a badly-aimed Stunner headed straight for Athena, who was trapped, practically standing against the wall. However, just before it could reach her, Miss Granger leaped across the intervening space faster than Severus would have believed possible for someone so un-athletic, and grabbed the little girl. The result was that she was hit by the spell herself.

Later, he would grumble that it would have been better for Hermione to knock them both to the ground, shielding the child with her own body. Unfortunately, Hermione was still on her feet with Athena in her arms when the Stunner caught her. It was a fairly strong spell which caused her to fly sideways, slamming her head against the hard stone wall.

As Athena scrambled to her feet, apparently unharmed, a glass-splintering shriek that only a young child could possibly manage rang through the corridor when she looked down at her saviour.

'MUMMY!'

Though Severus had been worried enough hearing her scream before, the sheer anguish Athena conveyed in this one word made his blood run absolutely cold. It was exactly the sharp jab he needed to stop merely watching the scene unfold like some sort of gormless troll and spring into action.

_Please let that be some childish bastardisation of the word 'Mione'_, he pleaded.

Desperately trying not to choke on his own saliva at what he knew was the true substance of Athena's revelation, and ruthlessly repressing any further analysis of it for later, Severus immediately launched into full Evil Teacher mode.

'Nobody move,' he spat fiercely, stalking quickly over to the injured student.

His words were unnecessary. Hermione's accident had been most effective in bringing the duel to an end. It seemed that when confronted by a serious injury and a positively livid Snape, all the would-be troublemakers had not the brass to so much as look him in the eye. If nothing else, Severus hoped that the simmering fury he fully intended to unleash on the lily-livered, molly-coddled Hufflepuffs who initiated this incident would teach them not to play games they could not stomach. For all his anger, particularly over the danger this entire thing had posed to his daughter, he was under control. It was only a bit of blood on the wall, and Severus had seen much worse.

Just when he thought the situation was more or less under control, another problem presented itself. It seemed that despite Miss Weasley's good intentions in attempting to prevent further injury to her friend, Athena refused to loosen her hold on Miss Granger's robes. This was only serving to make Ginevra more frantic and the child increasingly distressed. When a fierce wind started blowing through the corridor, Severus knew he had mere seconds to prevent an under-age magic explosion of epic proportions.

Kneeling down next to the fallen Trio member, he ordered 'Come here, Athena,' not harshly, but in a tone that brooked no disobedience. When Athena heard his voice so close to her, she immediately latched herself to him as tightly as she could and started wailing.

'Why won't Mummy wake up, Daddy? You can fix her, can't you? I didn't mean it, I promise,' she choked, through huge sobs that completely shook her little frame.

Severus only vaguely shushed her while he gently examined Miss Granger's head. It was worse than he initially thought. Knocked unconscious, very possibly with a cracked skull. However, the bleeding was already stopping.

_She will be fine_, he was relieved to note.

Severus wasted no more time. Vowing to revisit the details of this little episode later, he quickly cast a Patronus to summon Poppy. He then stood up, Athena still sniffling in his arms, and turned his most sinister glare on the students who stood waiting and immobilised with fear. His eyes fairly sparkled with malice when he said in a chilling tone only just louder than a whisper, 'My office, _now_.'

This bunch of dunderheads was about to get the first taste of what Severus Snape did to those who dared harm his daughter.

*****

When Hermione woke up in the Hospital Wing an hour or so after the incident, she struggled for a few seconds to recall what had occurred to land her there. She was surprised to see that Athena was curled up next to her on the bed, sleeping soundly.

'Madam Pomfrey?' she called, looking to her left in the direction of the medi-witch's office.

'She's in her office. _I'm_ here,' said a rather disgruntled voice on her right, causing Hermione to turn her head so fast it spun for a moment before settling once more. She smiled when she saw who it was.

'Gin,' she said, sighing with relief that her best friend was not lying in the bed next to her. 'What happened?'

Ginny, who looked as if she had just played a very rough game of Quidditch, just stared at Hermione as if she were an animal in a zoo. She wrinkled her freckled nose, but then brightened when she exclaimed, 'Oh look, here's Madam Pomfrey!' as if relieved to leave the subject alone for a little while.

'Shush, my dear, and let me have a look at you,' said the medi-witch briskly as she bustled over and started waving her wand over Hermione's head. 'That was quite the fall you had my dear, a very nasty bump. You've still got minor bruises on your shoulder and hip. I may have to pester Professor Snape for some bruise balm. We ran out just this morning.'

For some reason, at this point Ginny visibly blanched, and avoided meeting Hermione's questioning gaze.

Madam Pomfrey continued, 'I healed the fracture and gave you something for the concussion, but you must rest. Try not to hit your head again for at least a week, dear, and you'll be fine.'

The minute they were left alone, Hermione turned back to Ginny sitting in the chair by her bed.

'Tell me what happened, Gin,' she said more firmly. 'I remember grabbing Athena, but after that I can't remember anything.'

'Erm, I don't think I'm the best person to tell you all this, 'Mione. You might want to see Professor Snape about it,' said Ginny, still not meeting her friend's eyes. When Hermione continued to frown expectantly, Ginny started rambling, 'I mean you were really lucky. Even though the Stunner sent you straight into the wall and you hit your head, Athena hasn't even got a scratch. Right after that happened, the duel just stopped.'

At this Ginny abruptly halted in her recount, though she clearly had more to say. Hermione didn't have to wait long however, as Ginny quickly took a deep breath and fixed her with a steely gaze very reminiscent of the gleam in Molly's eyes when she had reprimanded the twins in days gone by.

'Look, I'm just going to say it, but I'll want some answers when I'm finished,' Ginny said, taking a deep breath before continuing, 'Athena went a little crazy when she realised you were out cold. She had an outburst of magic and started calling you 'Mummy'. Snape literally dragged her off you, and well, she basically fought and cried until I promised she could stay here with you. '

Before Hermione could process any of the information she had just been given, Ginny forged on to what she really wanted to know.

'So, is there anything you want to tell me, 'Mione?'

It was now Hermione's turn to stare at Ginny as if she had suddenly sprouted an extra eye and a horn. She was Athena's _mother_? She had _slept_ with Professor Snape? Professor Snape her _teacher_? Hermione's thoughts must have shown on her face, for Ginny almost immediately broke into a large grin when she saw her friend's reaction.

'So I take it this is as least as disturbing to you as it is to me?' she snorted quietly, trying to contain her giggles from turning into guffaws of laughter.

Hermione was not quite as quick to find the humour in the situation, her mind absorbed in a serious contemplation of the child still peacefully sleeping beside her. She didn't reply, but luckily Ginny seemed satisfied enough and was already asking other questions.

'By the way, didn't you and Harry say that Professor Snape's Patronus was a deer? I'm sure that whatever he sent to Madam Pomfrey wasn't a deer. It had wings.'

Wrenching her thoughts onto this completely new path, Hermione eventually answered, 'It was a deer when Harry saw it in the Forest of Dean, but it is possible for a Patronus to change. Tonks' did when she fell in love with Professor Lupin.'

Ginny nodded slowly, evidently not recognising the implications of the phrase _fell in love_ other than as it related to their lost friends. Abruptly rising from her seat, she hurriedly collected her things and said, 'I'd better leave you to rest. If you want to talk about anything, you know where to find me.'

So saying, Ginny left the Hospital Wing quickly, head down while she tried not to let her friend see the tears welling in her eyes. Hermione wanted to kick herself for using such a sensitive example without even realising. Everyone dealt with grief in their own way, and that she herself was all out of tears did not make the hurt any less.

Finding it impossible to dwell on her sadness for long, Hermione returned to what Ginny had said, sighing as she gently stroked Athena's soft brown hair._Am I really this girl's mother?_ She knew that Athena had been upset with her mother, and this new information explained Athena's behaviour over the last few days quite nicely. _She was giving me the cold shoulder. Why else would Athena pretend not to recognise me at all? _

Thinking about Athena inevitably brought thoughts of the little one's father, and Hermione blushed scarlet when she thought about what that entailed. Could she really fall in love with her teacher? There was no doubt that Athena being in the past complicated things somewhat, but Hermione found herself too tired to try that path at present. She considered his traits. Professor Snape was brave, he was good, and he had proven that he could be kind, but Hermione was still unconvinced of even their theoretical compatibility given that he was also sharp, cold and fairly difficult to get along with in general.

When Athena snuffled a little in her sleep and curled tighter next to the older girl, looking positively angelic, Hermione left her former train of thought and went down another. _It will be worth it_, she thought fervently. _It will all be worth it if one day, I am gifted with this beautiful little girl._ She tried not to blush or laugh hysterically at the now ever-present reminder of what that particular wish really implied. _Good Lord, I'm to bear the man_ two _children!_

While ruminating over the course it seemed her life would take, Hermione noticed Athena shift again, this time to shiver slightly with cold. Although the Hospital Wing was one of the warmest rooms in the castle, by virtue of strong charms to ensure the comfort of the patients, Athena was not under the bedclothes. Trying to cover Athena with the blankets without waking her up, Hermione realised she had failed when she saw pitch-black eyes looking up at her sadly.

'I'm sorry, Mummy,' Athena whispered, bottom lip shaking as tears threatened to make a reappearance.

Hermione melted. All her doubts and fears were completely forgotten as she instinctively pulled the little girl into a tight hug and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She murmured comforting words and gently patted the child's back until Athena's eyelids drooped once more.

The last vaguely mortifying thought Hermione had before she too succumbed to slumber was a brief musing as to how it might feel to be wrapped in the arms of her Professor, just as Athena was in her own.


	9. Chapter 9

CH 9 - Wednesday 'Night Time Reflections'

_AN: Thanks for the all the wonderful responses I got for the last chapter! I really appreciated hearing from all of you – but more particularly from those who have been silent until now! It meant a lot to me to know you've all been following this story. It's a short chapter this time, but I hope you like Severus' reaction. :)_

_There are never enough words to describe how indebted I am to my wonderful beta, AnachronisticAnglophile. Thanks again, lovely!_

*****

Gliding wraith-like through the corridors, Severus Snape moved deliberately towards the Hospital Wing an hour past curfew. Upon entering said ward, he muttered '_Nox_' under his breath. He knew from countless, painful experiences that there would be no need for wandlight since the moon shone clear into the room through large, arched windows. Seeing that only one of the dozen beds was occupied, Severus allowed the deep scowl that decorated his face since afternoon to relax very slightly.

_Good. I won't have to swear anyone else to bloody secrecy. _He considered this to be the first thing that had gone his way all week.

Without hesitation, Severus moved towards the sleeping girl he knew must be the infamous Miss Granger. Even if he had not known that she was spending the night in the Hospital Wing, he would certainly recognise that bushy hair anywhere. Biting back a groan of fatigue as he settled himself in the chair next to her bed, he noticed that instead of the single person he had expected, two sleeping girls lay on the narrow bed, the smaller figure wrapped in the arms of the larger.

To see Athena thus positioned, looking serene and peaceful in the arms of Hermione Granger, was a definite shock to Severus' system. For the first time since she had literally fallen into his life, it really hit him that since their less-than-stellar beginning, he had accepted Athena as his daughter, and they had quickly reached a point where she basically owned him. However, unlike both his former masters, Severus could not feel that he was the loser in trying to please his demanding little taskmistress. It was with this in mind that he vowed not to go back to the dungeons until he had worked through the multitude of conundrums presented to him by the day's events.

The strongest, most certain feeling inside Severus was that there must be something wrong with him. Despite his recent epiphany concerning Lily, he was surprised to find that his deer Patronus had not become more than the sum of its parts, so to speak. Over the years, he learnt to get some sort of perverse pleasure in watching the reactions of those who saw his delicate, feminine Patronus that seemed so at odds with the scowling face he presented to the world. It was ironic, but meaningful. Now, Severus felt like the rug had been pulled out from under his feet and he had forgotten how to stand. This had to be some sort of penance for the crimes of all his ancestors back to the time of the Four Founders.

It was such a shame that apostrophising to the skies was not his style.

Whispering _'Expecto patronum'_, Severus scowled at the silver creature that gracefully soared around in the room. A swan. Truth be told, it was a truly regal, majestic creature that reflected him much better in temperament than the deer ever had. If the hours he had spent that afternoon in the Library were of any use, he now knew that male swans could be very aggressive, particularly when protecting their partners and young.

They also mated for life.

_Now isn't that just bloody fantastic?_

Severus was not amused at the Patronus' implication that the feelings he had spent the better part of twenty five years enslaved to were not real. He had wasted his youth on someone he was never meant for in any shape, way or form.

_My own sodding Patronus is mocking me._

As he stared down at the two girls lying on the bed before him, Severus could not help but add self-pity to irritation when he considered that the change of Patronus signalled emotional upheaval, and his emotional upheaval was being ever-heightened by the change itself. This whole thing was profoundly disturbing. Magic had never failed him in this way before.

The further irony relating to the popular Muggle tale about the 'ugly duckling' was not lost on Severus. A distinctly malicious look crossed his face as he contemplated what he would do to the first person who dared mention that. Thanking Salazar for small mercies, he noted that he was at least producing the adult, rather than infant version. What had Poppy thought when she saw it? Given the whole love thing, it was only marginally less embarrassing than the deer had initially been. He simply failed understand why he could not have a fox or wild cat of some sort. Something _dangerous_. Despite this wish, Severus knew he wouldn't ever have a snake. He had experienced enough of snakes to last him a lifetime. However, he closed these thoughts, as he was unwilling to waste further time and energy fighting the inevitable. Being angry at magic in general would get him nowhere.

In short, he 'got over it'.

When the proverbial elephant in the room had grown so large that it threatened to completely engulf the Hospital Wing and everybody inside it, Severus forced himself to turn to the other matter on the table for consideration that evening.

Quite frankly, that Hermione was very probably Athena's mother and hence his future wife was the most thoroughly disturbing piece of information he had ever heard. This news totally eclipsed his past standard; the rumours surrounding Aberforth and what he did with those goats were more than scandalous. However, it could never be said that Severus Snape was anything other than a strong, practical man. A lesser mortal might have continued in denial until the truth hit him in the face, but when Severus was confronted with such potentially damning information, he was quick to analyse it and then decide upon the best course of action.

Unlike Hermione, Severus had little difficulty understanding Athena's attitude over the past few days. The silent treatment was a tried and tested way of hurting the average heart-on-sleeve-wearing-Gryffindor, and though few children had the determination to keep it up for long, Severus was unsurprised that Athena was a master. After all, he had always been fairly good at it himself. Being reasonably satisfied that she had made no mistake about her mother's identity, he then began to look for more evidence to support the theorem, and so fixed his sharp, intense, yet inscrutable gaze at the sleeping figures on the bed in front of him.

Unfortunately, past this point, Severus' reasoning hit major snags. The rest of the information just resisted analysis, preferring instead just to echo around and around inside his skull and thus put a spanner in the works of the entire acceptance process. It took much longer than it ever had before to organise the information into small pieces, ready for mental digestion.

_Fact: Athena is an intelligent child, and is therefore not likely to make a mistake about something that should be absolutely bleeding obvious._

_Fact: The strength of Athena's reaction suggests that despite being quite put out with her mother recently, they have a strong bond. This further narrows the possibility she might be mistaken._

_Persuasive inference: Athena has wavy dark brown hair which might well be the product of a compromise between straight black and bushy brown._

_Final nail in the coffin: Athena has her mother's nose and smile._

Severus grimaced. He was truly in two minds about this conclusion. Uppermost in his mind was a strong feeling of disgust in his future self. He was, in his own opinion, a lecherous bastard who someone should have kept away from former students young enough to be his daughter. On the other hand, the coldly rational side of his mind approved the match. Miss Granger--no, _Hermione--_was intelligent, powerful and kind. Despite the problems her future self had been having with Athena, Severus was not so blind to his daughter's faults that he did not think her capable of blowing something completely out of proportion if it suited her fancy. Hermione was no doubt an excellent mother in terms of both her genetic contribution and in a more everyday, qualified-to-care-for-children way.

The other voice would not fade entirely, however. Good mother or not, Severus had great difficulty in trying to imagine the girl in front of him as his wife. He had never thought of her as anything more than an incredibly vexatious student he would be glad to see leaving his classroom. He shuddered. Thank goodness he _hadn't_ thought about her. His list of past transgressions hardly needed to be any longer.

When he forced himself to evaluate her anew, Severus decided that he did not find her _un_attractive. There was an artlessness and innocence to her that few girls possessed in this day and age. His worries about what she could possibly see in him were allayed significantly when he considered that this was the girl who put up with Potter and Weasley as best friends. Though Severus by no means wished to class himself with idiots of their calibre, he had no illusions about his own eligibility as a life partner.

There was clearly no accounting for Hermione Granger's taste.

In any case, whether he liked it or not, if Athena and Hermione were a package deal, he would be more than willing to try and drop his prejudices and get to know the know-it-all as a person rather than a student. As easy as this might seem in theory, Severus knew that he too had some issues to deal with. The mere thought of shagging one of his students still gave him the creeps. However, if they were still together and had another child Merlin-knows-how-many-years into the future, presumably he hadn't killed her out of sheer irritation. Either that or he had been driven completely insane in the first year and she was harvesting his…on second thought, he decided he did not want to follow that line of inquiry any farther.

Having regained at least half of his inner calm, Severus decided that watching people sleep was not sweet and romantic as it was portrayed in the utterly brainless romance novels he confiscated from the Slytherin girls from time to time.

It was boring and clearly overrated.

A moonlight stroll around the castle was on the cards, before returning to his subterranean sanctuary for much needed rest.

*****

_AN: I haven't forgotten the punishment of those Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. More about that will be included next chapter._


	10. Chapter 10

CH 10 - Thursday 'Moving In'

_AN: Many many thanks to my beta, AnachronisticAnglophile, who didn't hesitate to give me a sharp poke when things weren't working, and also to MiaMadwyn, who held my hand while I fixed it up. *squishes you both* _

_  
Another thank you must go to reader lucyferr, who offered some very creative suggestions for how I should punish the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. I chose a rather less interesting route, but I definitely enjoyed and appreciated your suggestions!_

* * *

When he re-entered the Hospital Wing quite early the next morning, Severus' movements did not go unnoticed. On closing the door with the softest of thuds, which he privately thought was quite an achievement given the castle's heavy, Medieval-style doors, Athena's head immediately popped up from behind the inert lump that was Hermione Granger. On seeing him, she quickly scrambled out of bed and leapt into his arms, trying (but failing) to speak softly.

'Shh, Daddy. Remember what happened last time we woke Mummy?'

Intrigued, but deciding the story could wait, Severus lightly chided the girl. 'Good morning is a rather more suitable greeting, is it not, Athena?'

'Yes, yes,' replied the child impatiently. 'Good morning, Daddy.' She then continued, 'Mummy and I are friends again, and she's not angry with me, so can we all go home this morning? I don't want to stay with Aunt Ginny anymore.'

'Are you sure you don't want to stay with Aunt Ginny a little longer?' Severus queried with a raised eyebrow. Minerva had told him to prepare for Athena's possible removal to the dungeons, but he had no doubt that the headmistress would declare her undying love for Peeves before she allowed a student to do so as well.

'Silly Daddy. Mummy only wanted to stay with Aunt Ginny because she wanted to see me,' Athena replied confidently. 'I'm bored now. Aunt Ginny doesn't have any toys.'

Severus showed his amusement at Athena's obviously selfish desire to return 'home' with nothing more than a slight twitch of his lips. However, he narrowed his eyes when he noticed that _Hermione_ was also smiling and breathing much too lightly for deep slumber.

'Since,' he said, swallowing in an attempt not to gag over the next words and to inject as much vitriol into his tone as possible, 'your _mother_seems to be awake, maybe she would care to share her no doubt _numerous_ thoughts on the matter.'

That would teach Granger to listen in on private conversations. There was no way she would agree to live in the dungeons.

*****

Hermione was quite touched by the affectionate exchange she overheard between Athena and the Professor. Although she had seen enough of their interaction over the past few days to know that he was not always unpleasant, hearing him converse with Athena made him seem more approachable than ever before. It seemed that he had truly taken to parenting like a Niffler to gold. Hermione had to bite her lip to avoid laughing aloud, hearing him dryly correct Athena's manners only to be quickly dismissed by the four-year-old. Clearly, Athena was accustomed to (and in no way put off by) her father's highly critical nature.

The smile abruptly left her face when she heard herself being addressed by the Professor. When she opened her eyes and tried to gather what shreds of dignity she could after being caught eavesdropping, it took Hermione a few seconds to process what he had actually said.

She blinked.

_What on earth does he expect me to say?_

For the first time in her life so far, Hermione had absolutely no answer to give or opinion to share with her very irritated-looking Professor.

_Is he really that upset that I pretended to be asleep? What a strange man he is…_

Unfortunately for her, the tension between them only mounted even higher when Athena reiterated her plans for them all.

'We're going home today, Mummy. Daddy just agreed.'

'I said no such thing. How dare you put words in my mouth?' snapped Professor Snape, his fierce scowl for once directed at the little girl.

When Athena's lip started trembling and her little shoulders started shaking, Hermione's previous indecision and confusion was engulfed by the anger she now felt towards the heartless bastard who was making _her_ daughter cry.

'Come here, sweetie,' she said gently, when Athena seemed to stand frozen, sobs growing in volume even while she tried valiantly to meet her father's glare.

At Hermione's words, the fight visibly drained out of Athena. The poor child had been pushed above and beyond her breaking point. Exhausted from her troubles over the past few days, she allowed herself to be pulled into her mother's arms, but the quiet snuffling and sobbing scared Hermione more than loud screams and wails would have done.

Glaring over Athena's head at a visibly stricken Professor Snape, Hermione's rage was only partly mollified when she saw how deeply he seemed to be affected by the results of his actions. Her Professor or not, propriety and respect could go to hell.

'Of course we're going home today, love,' she said gently, while her uncharacteristically steely eyes dared the Professor to disagree. 'Daddy just woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.' _And most likely every other morning too_, she mentally added.

To her surprise, the Professor did not bother to contradict her. As evidenced by his next words, Hermione doubted he had even heard a word she said.

'You will stay with me until things are back to normal,' he ordered brusquely, clearly expecting her to have qualms about this arrangement. 'Make your way to my office after dinner. As much as I fear it might be beyond your abilities, _be discreet_.' The last was almost a hiss.

*****

When Athena started crying because of his thoughtlessness, Severus went into mild shock, cursing his lack of vigilance and control since the war. It had never crossed his mind that such a small comment might backfire quite so badly. He may be unused to having emotional dependents, but Salazar strike him down if he wasn't more careful in the future.

When he considered the provocation presented by the insufferable Miss Granger, Severus was more than a little inclined to lay the blame for his actions squarely at her feet. He and Athena had been getting along perfectly fine without a mother getting in the way. Still, to give credit where it was due, the annoying Granger chit was a more skilful adversary than he expected. Contrary to what she probably thought, he had heard every word of her little reprimand, and found himself unwillingly impressed with her nerve and maturity. She had raised a sword where he expected a shield, leaving him to parry.

_There is no shame in a tactical retreat every now and then, but she doesn't have to know that…_

Knowing it would probably end badly, Severus made what would probably be the second most impulsive decision in his life at that moment when he more or less ordered her into his home. He knew there would be hell to pay with Minerva for what the uptight old woman would, no doubt, view as totally inappropriate fraternisation with a student. However, from his perspective, he reasoned that at least this latest fit of rash behaviour could not possibly result in being shackled to a psychopath with nothing but an ugly, permanent tattoo and several recurring nightmares to show for it.

Determined not to let Granger have any more input into decision-making, Severus realised that he could kill two birds with one stone when he hit on a way to make amends to Athena. It just so happened that he had not yet made any changes to his quarters in order to accommodate her.

Ignoring the hostile glares he was getting from the know-it-all, he gently took Athena out of her arms and whispered to the little girl.

'Athena, the house-elves have been cleaning the dungeons while you were staying with your aunt, so everything might look a bit different. Why don't we go to Hogsmeade this weekend and get some new things for your room?' Though he knew he would not regret this little ploy if it worked, he internally grimaced a little at the outright lies he had been reduced to. One would think he had gained nothing from a lifetime of espionage.

_I cannot believe I am grovelling to a child. Trust Minerva to set me such an impossible task! The mouldy old hag gets more like Dumbledore with each passing day. How am I supposed to make Athena feel at home when I have no idea what I might have done to the space in the future? _

Even as he internally railed against unreasonable Headmistresses who took presumptuous liberties with a colleague's private quarters, Severus could still appreciate irony. Whilst his daughter was likely observant enough to notice a change to her home, it was yet far beyond her abilities to grasp that she had travelled back Merlin-knew-how-many-years in time.

Actually, the particular timeframe he was expected to work to was something Severus planned to find out in the near future. He grudgingly supposed Miss Granger might also be interested in such knowledge. All this would be much easier to cope with if he had something around which to organise himself, an action plan of sorts. Not for the first time this week, Severus bemoaned that his conscience would not permit him to use Legilimency on a child. It just seemed like such an unnecessary effort to wheedle the information out of her.

His little ruse worked better than he hoped. Athena reacted as if she had been hit with a particularly strong Cheering charm. She not only dried her tears and squealed, 'Thank you, Daddy!' in reply, but then saw fit to enumerate exactly what she wanted. It would have been comical if he wasn't so relieved that she had not decided to ignore _him_ for half a week. He felt a little smug about this. However, since her manner bore an alarming resemblance to that of Pansy Parkinson in the brief period of time when the older girl had held Draco Malfoy's affections, Severus couldn't stop his eyes from rolling heavenwards in a silent plea that the Gods preserve his pocketbook.

_If a four-year-old promises to do such damage, what will she be like when she's sixteen?_

To distance himself from the headache-inducing excess of rapture that exuded from his daughter, he quickly placed Athena back on Granger's bed, muttered something vague about having an appointment with the Headmistress, and deliberately extricated himself from the scene.

His excuse was partially true. Thanks to his prodigious want of prudence this morning, he was indeed going to have to see Minerva soon and tell her just what a Kneazle's ear of things he had managed to create in a single conversation.

_What a poor showing for the Head of Slytherin House. Perhaps I'll aim for a personal point-taking and detention-giving record this afternoon to make up for it. Filch will be delighted._

*****

'You WHAT?' Minerva screeched, when Severus announced the arrangements he had made until such time as he and Miss Granger were relieved of their untimely burden. Even after almost twenty years as colleagues, Severus still thoroughly enjoyed every rise he could get out of the predictable old prude.

'There's no need to shout, Minerva,' he drawled silkily, revelling in her shock and discomfort. 'I fully understand your concern. Obviously the most realistic arrangement would be if Miss Granger and I shared a bed. However, given how inappropriate that would be at this stage of our relationship, I am sure you can see why moving another bed into the room was the best I could do,' he finished, carefully keeping his expression bland as if they were discussing nothing more important than the weather. Since _he_ was now reconciled with the idea, why not milk it for all it was worth?

By the time he reached 'relationship', Minerva's eyes were practically ready to pop out of her skull, and a vein was throbbing in her forehead.

_Maybe I should tone down the teasing. The woman is certainly no spring chicken and I do not need to be associated with the death of another Head teacher. _

Severus grimaced slightly at that particular thought. Such a black sense of humour was one of the lesser-known, long term side-effects of spending extended periods of time with Death Eaters. He would have to remember this one to tell Lucius. No doubt his old friend would find it hilarious.

'Severus Snape, I fail to see how Hermione Granger is related to this at all. Did you just say you were planning on pursuing a romantic relationship with a STUDENT?!'

_Ah._

He had conveniently forgotten that he had yet to explain to Minerva who Athena's mother was.

'May I assume you wish to jump ahead to the second item on the agenda?' Severus asked nonchalantly, still thoroughly enjoying just how tight he had wound his old adversary.

'What item? What agenda are you talking about?' Minerva snapped, clearly in no mood to play.

'Your agenda, Minerva. Did you or did you not send me a note requesting that I provide information for the school records as to what punishment was assigned for the perpetrators of the duel which caused Miss Granger's injury?'

'Get to the point, Severus.'

He grudgingly obeyed.

'In the aftermath of yesterday's incident, Athena inadvertently revealed that Miss Granger is her mother. The eight students involved, excluding Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood, were threatened with disembowelment with the use of totally harmless, but _unusual_ Potion-making implements. They were also strongly _encouraged_ to sign a cursed parchment somewhat in the nature of the one Miss Granger utilised herself so effectively for Dumbledore's Army.'

Of course, in a nauseatingly sentimental manner, Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood had proclaimed that they would protect their friend's privacy without being asked.

Minerva's frown deepened with every word.

'Luckily for you,' she answered coldly, 'the Department of Mysteries has provided us with permission to halt news of Athena's travels from spreading any further. I will write in the school records that the matter was handled appropriately.'

_Victory._ However, Severus was not willing to let go the earlier point. It was time to counter-attack.

'As to your earlier accusation, it must be clear to you now that I did not plan anything. I was _informed_ yesterday by my hellion of a daughter that Miss Granger is her mother, so I was merely referring to being intimate with her at some point in the future. Don't tell me that you need an explanation of the birds and the bees. Or is it that you think so badly of me that you assume I would…what is the expression…"love her then leave her"?' he sneered, actually somewhat hurt by how badly she was taking all this. It really was a stellar performance on his part, only made better by some measure of real emotion.

Minerva sniffed. Clearly Severus learning to read the behaviour of his former teacher had not been a one way exchange. 'Please, spare me your theatrics, Severus. You know that I do not think you an unprincipled cad. However, I still think it completely justified on my part to express some concern that you will be sharing a room with a student for an indefinite span of time. You are not married yet, my boy.'

_Touché. Time for a change of tactics._

'Please allow me the use of my discretion in this matter concerning my family, Minerva,' he said firmly. There was no better way to appeal to Gryffindors than to go for the high road. 'I assure you there will be nothing inappropriate about the arrangement. I plan to spend as much time as possible in my office or lab until I can safely deliver Miss Granger back to Gryffindor Tower.'

'I still do not like this, Severus,' she replied sharply, obviously unmoved. 'I demand you provide more justification than simply that you think this arrangement best. Why shouldn't Athena stay with Miss Granger and Miss Weasley in the Tower as she has been doing?'

When he realised his appeal to her 'better' nature had not worked, Severus started absolutely seething with irritation.

_Why must the harpy pry into everything? Being a bloody gentleman only goes so far. If I'm going to take a fall for this, Hermione Granger is bloody well coming down with me!_

'If you really must know, Headmistress,' he said, infusing his voice with as much scorn and disdain as possible, 'when I told Athena she could not return to her home she started crying. Do you know what it is like to watch your four-year-old daughter cry, Minerva? Of course you don't.'

It was a low blow, but Severus was past caring. Everyone snapped at some point, and it seemed Athena had done what Dumbledore and Voldemort combined never could.

Severus Snape was babbling like a raving lunatic.

He continued, 'Then, your perfect Miss know-it-all Granger promised her we would all be home in the evening. Would you like to be the one who tells the child her family is possibly the most dysfunctional domestic unit in all Wizarding Britain because Daddy will end up unemployed or in Azkaban if he so much as looks sideways at Mummy at any time before June? Do you honestly think I _chose_ this? Athena bloody well made the paintings shake yesterday! As far as I am aware, they are all magically fixed to the thrice-cursed walls. What would you have me do?'

'I want a Wizard's Oath,' Minerva interrupted suddenly, looking positively alarmed at the torrent of semi-abusive snarl pouring from the ordinarily unshakeable Potions Professor's mouth. Severus was a very private man, and it seemed she had quite underestimated just how much pressure he was under at the present time.

Although Severus immediately balked at the idea of swearing to anything, it was enough to distract him from his explosive ranting.

Even he was surprised at the previous moment's outburst. Had he really been feeling all that? What a novelty. In any case, he needed to control himself and turn this back into a win-win situation. He would _not_ lose, and it seemed Minerva did not mean to do so either.

He took a moment to calm himself before answering.

'What sort of Oath?' he queried warily.

'That you will not touch the girl in any way until such time as she's your lawfully wedded wife.'

Severus was hard pressed not to choke.

'I will do no such thing! How in Merlin's name do you expect me to court the girl if I'm not allowed to touch her until we're married?' he retorted scathingly before he could stop himself.

'If your intentions are as pure as you say, you should not mind making an Oath to that effect,' Minerva countered.

Severus decided that wearing her down any further just was not worth his while. He might as well end this as quickly as possible. It could still be more or less on his terms. There was no way in sodding hell he was going to swear another Unbreakable Vow. A standard Oath would be fine. Minerva would be notified if he broke it, and the worst that could happen to him would be yet another black mark in St Peter's book next to his name. It would be nothing the gatekeeper had not seen before.

Drawing his wand, he noticed she was less quick to follow suit.

_Interesting, perhaps she was half-bluffing after all._

As their wands touched tips, he intoned, 'I, Severus Snape, do solemnly swear that I will treat Hermione Granger with all due respect while she is under my roof. I will not consummate my relationship with Hermione Granger until said woman is my lawfully wedded wife.'

For a moment the wandtips flared gold, then it was over.

A long moment passed while Minerva looked him appraisingly, as if she had never truly seen him before.

'Do you actually plan to court her?' she asked, demeanour completely changed as she gracefully lifted one eyebrow. Her facial expression was still prim, but he could see the amusement in her eyes.

Severus allowed himself to relax just a little now that they had returned to witty repartee. This was normal, and normal was something his life had totally lacked over the last few days. He was also glad that she was satisfied with the intentionally vague wording of his promise. As to the consummation, he was indifferent. Although he would prefer to do things the right way, he would not hesitate to drag Granger to the Ministry for a licence if it was necessary to ensure Athena was born. He snorted internally at the other part. 'Due' respect indeed.

'Oh no, the plan is to throw her over my shoulder and Apparate her to Gretna Green.'

Minerva did snort at that. 'See you take care of her, Severus,' she said seriously, before they settled in to discuss the finer details of Miss Granger's stay.

Somehow, he knew she wasn't just referring to the next few days.


	11. Chapter 11

Thursday 'The Professor's Lair'

_AN: My apologies for the slow update! RL got really busy. These things happen. For future reference, I will post open entries to my LJ if something is running late. If you are wondering – just take a peek there before sending me a message! You can find me at: .com/_

_Hugs and kisses as usual to my beta, Anachronistic Anglophile, and also a small wave to JunoMagic, who kindly offered her opinion on some stuff I wasn't sure about. _

* * *

By the time Hermione arrived with Athena at Professor Snape's office after dinner, the ramifications of her compulsion to go 'home' had fully taken root in her mind.

_I am about to invade the privacy of an ex-Death Eater spy. An ex-Death Eater spy who is also my Professor. The Professor who's made it very obvious over the course of six or seven years that he doesn't particularly care for my company. The ex-Death-Eater-spy-Professor-who-doesn't-like-me whose rooms I more or less demanded access to this morning! _

As she tried not to hyperventilate at the situation she found herself in, it really hit Hermione that although the Professor retracted his fangs during the day to teach, Severus Snape was a dangerous and somewhat unpredictable man. In hindsight, it seemed like a terrible idea to agree to live with someone whose personal habits she knew nothing about. Her only point of reference for him outside school was as a spy for the Order, but when she had seen him during that summer at Grimmauld Place, he had been careful to preserve the distance that they were accustomed to at Hogwarts. This visit would be her first with him that was almost completely outside the carefully-monitored boundaries of student-teacher interaction.

That 'almost' represented a huge problem. Hermione really had no idea as to where she stood with the man. Everything her mother taught her about polite social interaction seemed ridiculously inadequate when applied a situation like this. What were the rules when approaching one's future spouse? Were they equals?

_I'm in Rome, but the only Roman around is an irritable, sarcastic, uncommunicative man who--if his classes are any indication--enjoys watching people struggle!_

However, despite her nervousness, Hermione could not stop engaging in wild speculation about the insight she was about to gain into the world of Severus Snape. Rumours surrounding the contents of Snape's private quarters were the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Such was their notoriety, Ginny had begged and wheedled Hermione for hours for a promise she would give a long description over breakfast the next morning. Though Hermione herself was far too sensible to believe the more outlandish tales, such as the idea that he slept hanging upside down wrapped in an enchanted cloak, she was certainly interested. Did he really have his own library and a secret potions lab in which to conduct highly sensitive research experiments?

When they entered his office, Professor Snape greeted Athena as usual and silently regarded Hermione with one of his unnervingly blank expressions. Deciding to forego any common pleasantries, he then abruptly turned to the wall behind his desk and drew his wand.

After at least a minute of solid wand waving, Hermione's anticipation and apprehension were such that she almost wanted to wave her arm around in the air just like she had been wont to do as an excited first-year. She was bursting with questions based on what she could see. Although she had quite a bit of experience with wards, courtesy of being on the run with Harry and Ron for much of the previous year, she could understand almost nothing of what the Professor was doing. It certainly didn't help that he was doing it all wordlessly.

As if he read her thoughts (Hermione shivered when she remembered that he very well might have), Professor Snape gave her an unsettling smirk and gestured oh-so-gallantly for her to walk first through what appeared to be a solid stretch of stone wall. Though doors pretending to be walls were fairly common fare at Hogwarts, Hermione was uncomfortable with this one. She really did not want to know what would happen to someone who tried to enter without his express permission. Eyeing the space warily, she could not completely banish the small suspicion that he might have deliberately left some unpleasant trap for her, just to bring himself some amusement. Slytherins were odd like that. She took a deep breath, reminded herself she was a Gryffindor, and confidently strode straight through the wall into blind darkness.

Hermione's first reaction was panic. The sensation was too similar to the time in her sixth year that Draco Malfoy had led the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. However, before she could begin to use her other senses to assist her, she violently started. Professor Snape was right behind her, muttering a spell that effectively lifted the darkness. Humiliated because she had not heard or even sensed him so close to her, she whirled around to face him.

'Is all this really necessary?' she snapped, angry and embarrassed at her own skittishness. She noted that Professor Snape led Athena into the room personally, his large hand clutching her much smaller one. Hermione huffed. _Well_, she thought, _that at least goes some way towards explaining how my courage was upstaged by a child's! _

A more rational second thought produced slightly different ideas.

_Actually_, she amended wryly, _Athena probably wouldn't have minded either way. _

It was very obvious that in many ways, Athena was very much her father's daughter. However, just as Hermione was beginning to feel a bit upset by this, her feelings were slightly mollified when the Professor gave her a sort of half-smirk-almost-smile. His eyes even flickered for a moment with what might have been amusement, though it was quickly concealed.

_That might just be the most positive emotion I have ever seen in this man._

'Old habits,' he murmured, averting his face to the side for a moment as if he did not want her to see his expression.

Was he actually teasing her? It was the first time Hermione could recall seeing anything in his eyes at all. If the eyes really were the windows to the soul, the general state of Professor Snape's would hasten the conclusion that he had been Kissed by a Dementor.

Now that her fears had been proved entirely groundless, Hermione was finally at leisure to observe her surroundings. She smiled broadly at what she saw. It seemed Professor Snape did indeed have a secret Potions lab. On finding out that it could be accessed directly from his office, Hermione's only surprise at the security measures was that Snape had not chosen to further guard the chamber with blood magic. She would have been willing to part with half her personal library in return for the opportunity to poke around amongst the first-class quality potion-making tools that she saw neatly arranged in the lab. Unfortunately for her boundless curiosity, there was no evidence anywhere of an ongoing project. In fact, the whole room was so clinically neat and pristine that it looked like it had never been used.

'It's wonderful,' she breathed, too rapt with appreciation of the space to voice any one of the hundred questions in her mind.

'You will never attempt to enter this room without me,' he returned sharply. The bad-tempered Professor Snape she had known for six years was back. Irritated with his sudden return to condescension, Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. She was _not_ one of the idiots in her class ready to run wild through what was so obviously one of his favourite retreats. Just as they settled into what promised to be a fairly intense glaring match, Athena made her impatience known. She stomped towards another section of wall before turning and frowning at her father.

'Let me through, Daddy. I want to use the loo,' she demanded.

With her gaze fixed on the Professor's face, Hermione caught the whole of his reaction to this pointed entreaty and openly snickered; his stunned expression was intensely gratifying for her to behold. If Athena's familiarity with the place was any indication, it appeared that Snape's future self had toned down his paranoia exponentially. Simultaneously tearing their gazes off each other, Hermione and Severus turned to face their daughter. Pedantic disciplinarian that he was, Snape only folded his arms across his chest and raised a questioning eyebrow at Athena, moving to join her on the other side of the room.

'Is that the correct way to address your father?' he asked softly, a clear warning in his tone.

'Will you please open the door for me, Daddy?' was Athena's contrite response. Hermione was impressed, but again a little put-out. Her experiences with Athena so far this week had mostly consisted of mopping up the deluge in the wake of an unstoppable force of nature.

_It is so unfair. I'll never be as scary as Professor Snape_, she grumbled internally.

Truth be told, Hermione was a little jealous. It was clear that while Athena had been ignoring her mother's existence, the Professor had already built up a quite a close relationship with the little girl. Apparently likewise satisfied with Athena's response, Snape touched the cold, grey stone with his fingertips and muttered a password Hermione did not catch. Immediately, the wall disappeared and Athena bounced into the narrow corridor like an excitable rabbit. Worried that she would get lost in the darkness, Hermione hurriedly followed, leaving the Professor to re-seal the lab door. She had almost managed to grab the back of Athena's robes when the little girl suddenly made a sharp turn. Athena led them up a narrow flight of stairs, taking them into what was unmistakeably Professor Snape's sitting room.

She was so concerned with not careening into the wall, it took Hermione a few moments to regain her balance and take a look at her new environs. Athena did not tarry, but disappeared through an ordinary doorway. She was obviously familiar with this place, so Hermione no longer felt compelled to follow her.

To say that the room was not what Hermione expected would be a vast understatement. It was bright, lit by several round, white globes that were filled with Merlin-knows-what and floating near the ceiling. Although most wizards still preferred to use candles, the reason for the Professor's choice became abundantly clear when she glanced at the walls. Every wall--save the one behind her, which housed a rather grand stone fireplace and an arched window on either side--was covered with shelf upon shelf full of books.

The windows were quite obviously magical. There was no way that Professor Snape could have a real view of the lake or the Forest-edge lawn from the dungeons. Except for a generous perimeter around the fireplace, the floor was covered by a thick, dark green carpet. A heavy-looking table made of dark wood and some comfortable-looking chairs near the hearth completed the picture. The whole thing was quite warm in both appearance and temperature, a far cry from the description Harry and Ron had given her of the Slytherin common room back in second year. In fact, the only features Hermione had anticipated correctly were the books and the not-so-subtle green theme in both the carpet and furniture upholstery. Unlike the Potions lab, this room looked a little more lived-in. There were neat stacks of parchment on the table, and a few strange objects that Hermione supposed were personal effects sitting at intervals in the bookshelves.

Hermione was not particularly surprised at very comfortable size of the Professor's quarters. According to _Hogwarts: A History_, the Heads of Houses generally inhabited the original chambers of their House's respective Founder. Although there was little documented evidence about the teachers' quarters in general—possibly due to lack of interest on the authors' parts—Hermione had done some research of her own and found a small footnote in a volume about the warding of dwelling houses. It said that the various nasty hexes and curses Slytherin had put on his quarters against Muggle-borns had been removed in the seventeenth century by a clever Slytherin Charms Master. Apparently, he had wanted to sneak his Muggle-born mistress into the school on weekends. Disregarding this past Professor's motives, Hermione could only feel grateful that the quarters would not present her any threat in that regard.

Hermione heard a noise, and she turned to see Professor Snape enter after her. As they came through what looked like solid stone to the side of the fireplace, Hermione noticed only the very slightest ripple in the illusion before there appeared to be no break in the stone at all.

'Where is Athena?' the Professor asked calmly. He seemed to have regained his equilibrium somewhere between the lab and the sitting room.

'I assume she is using the facilities. Professor—'

'—Miss Granger,' he abruptly cut her off, 'please use what common sense you possess. You are here to provide Athena with a home. As foreign as the concept may be to you, most parents do not address each other by professional titles. 'Severus' will do in private.'

Pleasantly surprised by this dropping of formality, Hermione inclined her head to acknowledge the unexpected favour, disregarding now negatively it had been phrased. 'You may likewise call me 'Hermione' if you wish.' She hesitated before asking the question that had been hovering on her tongue. 'Severus, is the way we just came the only way into your rooms?'

The corners of his mouth twitched as he elegantly seated himself in a green wingback chair near the fire. 'You are always so eager for answers,' he drawled. 'What will you offer me in return for that one?'

Hermione gaped.

_Does he really expect me to barter for answers? What could I possibly offer him?_

'Oh, close your mouth, Miss Granger,' he snapped, his good mood apparently as changeable as the wind. 'You may ask questions, but I may choose not to answer. In this case, you must have garnered from the security measures that I do not generally enter via my lab. The primary entrance is from the dungeons into a small foyer just off the corridor.' A flick of one of his long-fingered hands indicated the doorway through which Athena had gone. He went on. 'I did not take you through that way because I did not wish to unnecessarily flaunt our situation to any Slytherin students returning from dinner. Tomorrow morning, you will Floo to Minerva's office and make your way to breakfast from there.'

Despite the fact that he had actually answered her, Hermione had no more desire to ask questions. They merely stood and regarded each other in tense silence until Athena returned with a frown on her face.

'Mummy? Where is Hadrian?'

*****

Severus drew a blank when he initially heard Athena's question.

_Now, just what did Minerva say we were supposed to tell her?_

As the question had not been addressed to him, Severus didn't put a huge amount of energy into answering this question. If Granger's uncharacteristically gormless expression was any indication, she couldn't remember either. However, instead of helping her, he decided to wobble the cauldron a little and watch her deal with it.

_The girl's reaction to the darkness was priceless. She might even be more fun to tease than Minerva. Less likely to have a heart attack over it, too._

'I haven't seen him either, Athena,' he said seriously, with just the right amount of feigned confusion. He added more pointedly, 'Merlin forbid that your mother lose the baby…'

To her credit, Hermione did not rise to the bait. Her face even lit up a little as she remembered the little story Minerva had concocted earlier in the week.

'Hadrian is visiting London. He will be back with us in a few days,' she answered calmly, appearing to ignore Severus' comment.

Athena thought about this for so long that Severus actually exchanged a glance with Hermione, wanting to know whether she had any idea what was going through his -- no -- their daughter's keen little mind. A surreal feeling hit him as he thought about that. Part of him actually wanted to work with the irritating young woman rather than against her.

He comforted himself by deciding that this desire was purely logical. Being Athena's keeper was far more taxing than an ordinary full-time job. It was definitely in his best interests to embrace Hermione's assistance as an excellent means of retaining his sanity.

'Why didn't we seem him when we were in London? What would happen if Mummy really lost him?' Athena eventually asked, a calculating gleam in her eyes.

_When the bloody hell was she in London? The child must have delusions or a very faulty grasp of geography. I must remember to ask Narcissa about private tutors…if Granger's off gallivanting with the Unspeakables, I assume she isn't shouldering all her motherly duties. I flatly refuse to let some brainless Hufflepuff teach my daughter. I swear half the O.W.L. candidates still struggle with basic spelling and grammar… _

Forcibly curtailing his devious thoughts as to future education plans, Severus leapt into the conversation. He had to ensure that Athena was very firmly dissuaded from resorting to even more extreme methods in her quest for the disposal-of-baby-brother. He shuddered to think of what she might come up with. Best to nip these particular ideas in the bud.

'Athena,' he warned, his voice menacingly quiet, 'if I ever even suspect that you have deliberately tried to hurt, lose or sell your brother in any way, shape or form, I will very angry with you. Is that clear?'

When he saw Hermione raise an eyebrow and struggle not to smile, Severus only frowned more deeply. The naïve Gryffindor had a lot to learn. Though the inclusion of 'sell' in that particular injunction might well amuse a Muggle-born, it was not without precedent. Daphne Greengrass had taken very badly to the birth of Astoria, and the family had been extremely lucky to get the baby back from the goblins.

'Yes, Daddy,' Athena replied, pouting. Apparently she saw no loophole in this injunction, either.

To Severus' great surprise and discomfort, rather than turn and glare at him as she had been doing at intervals since their dramatic scene in the morning, Hermione shot him a positively beaming smile after Athena's admission.

_She's almost pretty when she smiles._

Totally unprepared for this little thought, which seemed to drift up lazily from the depths of his subconscious only to pop like a very vicious, evil bubble when it reached the surface, Severus gave Hermione a small nod back. He was desperate to keep up a cool and unshakeable façade in the face of such totally unaccountable feelings.

_It's Athena's smile_, he told himself frantically, _it's Athena's smile in her bloody face that's making me so bloody insane. _

* * *

AN: For want of a better phrase, 'to be continued…'


	12. Chapter 12

Thursday 'I Love You'

_AN: A quicker update for you all! Ongoing thanks to everyone who reads and reviews! I really love hearing from you._

Many thanks to betas Anachronistic Anglophile and JunoMagic! *hugs you both*

* * *

'I'm tired. Can you come and tuck me in, Mummy?'

Though Granger – no, _Hermione_ – looked a bit startled by the abrupt change of topic, Severus could only feel relieved that she was no longer smiling at him. He would really rather not dwell on the _charms,_ such as they were, of Hermione Granger.

As Athena towed her mother out of the room, Hermione shot her future spouse a slightly doubtful look, and Severus took immense satisfaction by responding with a roll of his eyes.

_What in Circe's name is the girl unsure about? The dungeons aren't about to suddenly bite her. She probably just can't cope with the fact that the child doesn't come with an instruction manual. I bet she let the Weasley girl do everything while Athena was in their care. Well, it's about bloody time Granger started pulling her weight!_

After Summoning a bottle of Firewhisky and Conjuring a glass, Severus settled himself into a chair and stared blankly into the fire. This seemed as good a method as any to trick himself into forgetting that he had _roommates_ for the first time in his adult life. Roommates in the form of a _family._ As accustomed as he was to the dungeons, Severus had never actually considered them a home in the way that families had homes.

His quarters were very comfortable, but by no means enormous. The library was at one end of his residence, and a short corridor led to his bedroom, bathroom, study, and – newly added by Minerva – guest bedroom. If Hermione knew where to look and had the right passwords, she could also exit into the dungeons near the Slytherin common room or directly out to the grounds.

Severus sincerely hoped that last secret would die with him. With a bit of luck, and perhaps a more stringent pre-employment vetting process, no future Head of Slytherin House would ever need to sneak out under cover of night to kiss the robes of a semi-human lunatic. In fact, the only reason he had not asked Minerva to close it up was because he found it reassuring and otherwise good for maintaining his sanity. Every dungeon should have an emergency escape route. However, it was fairly obvious that basic fire-safety had not concerned the Founders. Wizards tended to be woefully behind when it came to such things. In fact, why exactly they had constructed a _school_ with _dungeons_ was totally beyond Severus.

_In any case,_ he reasoned, allowing his mind to drift back to the emergency exit, _it's not as if the damn hole works both ways. _

Since Dumbledore would never have compromised the castle's defences by allowing any other entry than the front doors, Severus' little exit could only be opened from within. However understandable this was, Severus was completely certain that the daft old man had been amusing himself when it came to the other particulars. The actual size and positioning of the hole was such that Severus was forced to lower himself to the ground and _wriggle_ through it. It seemed that snake jokes never got old.

That thought gave him pause, and he took a moment to reflect on the differences between Minerva and Albus' modes of administration. Having formulated a plan for Athena's room with the headmistress the day before, Severus knew that she had enlisted the aid of Filius for one last look at the castle's magical blueprints. Convening once more before taking action, all three Professors met after the last class of the day and executed a flawless magical relocation of a door, a few walls, and all of the accompanying pipes before dinner. In contrast, Dumbledore had done the entire tunnel project himself. He did not even tell Severus of the plan until he had very narrowly avoided being hexed to kingdom come by the irate Potions master. Severus thought his reaction had been perfectly justified. It was not every day that he awakened to find the headmaster positively beaming at him out of a hole in his bedroom floor.

_Took me bloody months to be able to sleep again in that room again without nightmares…_

Endeavouring to relegate such _fond_ memories to the back of his mind, Severus finished his drink and moved to the table so as to begin brutalising a stack of third-year essays. He was secure in the knowledge that he had successfully completed his share of parental duties for yet another long day.

_Surely Athena can guide her incompetent mother through the motions of getting ready for bed…_

However, by the time he had finished with the fourth essay, it had become excruciatingly obvious that Hermione and Athena were not fellow believers in doing mundane things quickly and quietly. Despite the thickness of the dungeon walls, shrieks of laughter and giggles from the bathroom were quite audible from his present position.

Almost twenty minutes and only another three essays later, Severus was about ready to snarl at them to just shut up when a noticeably damp Hermione came bounding into the room.

'Athena wants a goodnight kiss, as well as to see "Toby" and "Jeannie" as a present for returning home,' she informed him. 'I hope you have a better idea who they are than I do.'

He rose to his feet, scowling.

_Who in Merlin's name are 'Toby' and 'Jeannie'? _

Severus did not like the name Toby on principle. It was the name he had heard his mother use to try to appeal to his father's so-called 'better nature' when she was at her most vulnerable. Even he was unsure why he had not gleefully eliminated 'Tobias' from the middle of his name on the day he came of age. Wishing fervently that there would be no tantrum created by a favourite toy being non-existent in this time, Severus wordlessly swept down the hallway to face his insufferable progeny, leaving Hermione to follow in his wake.

Athena's face lit up the moment she saw her father enter the room.

'Please can I see Toby, Daddy? Please?' she begged, pouting in a manner Severus was quite sure would make most dunderheaded men do anything for her. Personally, he was intrigued by her manner.

_This must be an extraordinary favour. There is simply no way a child like Athena would beg if a simple request would work. _

'Sweetheart,' Hermione started gently, joining her on the bed, 'your Daddy isn't sure what you mean. His memory isn't always very good.'

Severus scowled, but refrained from snarling at the young woman. _At least she had the grace to give me a slightly apologetic look after she said it. _

'Toby is the silver bird that comes out of Daddy's wand,' Athena explained, looking at Severus hopefully. 'Jeannie comes out of Mummy's wand and sometimes they dance together.'

This was far worse than Severus expected. His normally pale complexion went ashen with dread. Hermione, being the know-it-all she was, guessed immediately who 'Jeannie' must be, and quickly sent her otter Patronus twirling around the room.

_I cannot believe she calls the bloody thing 'Toby'. Does the child's impertinence know no end?_

Not wanting to turn down what was now a personal challenge, Severus gritted his teeth and resolved to just get past this ordeal as quickly as possible. He dimmed the light globes for effect, then let 'Toby' the swan fly enthusiastically from his wand.

Unlike normal Patronuses, which embodied positive calm and grace, Severus wanted the ground to swallow him whole when the thing hissed and spit for a little while, then chased Hermione's otter all around the room. While affecting to be quite unembarrassed by his new Patronus, Severus took the opportunity to glare at the witch whose mere presence was ruining his equilibrium, daring her to say something about the swan.

He was surprised at the slight disappointment he felt when it became obvious that she was too occupied with watching the joyful smile on Athena's face to take much notice of the animals.

_Why should I care if she notices it or not? Potter probably didn't even bother telling her about the doe. It would be just like him to be selfish and keep things to himself. Either that or Granger's memory is failing. And she dares to say I have problems…_

After a minute or two, during which Severus continued to dwell on the many flaws of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, the Patronuses finally ended their 'dance', returning to their respective master and mistress and dissipating.

Now that the show was over, Hermione promptly tucked the excited child into bed and gave her a kiss, promising she would have her own 'silver animal' one day.

'Night, night, Mummy,' Athena said, smiling.

Something inside Severus flipped when he saw that smile again.

_So familiar. How did I miss it before?_

When Athena looked expectantly at him, Severus felt another brief moment of panic.

_Not in front of Granger. _

Unwilling as he was to disappoint Athena, Severus had to absolutely force himself to join the two girls on the bed and give the little one a goodnight kiss. He could readily think of several deaths he would have preferred to having to expose his deepest feelings in this manner.

It did not matter that Hermione was obviously as besotted with the child as he was.

Trying to get it over with quickly, Severus was surprised when Athena returned his very perfunctory peck by throwing her little arms around his neck and giving him an enthusiastic cheek-kiss in return.

'Night, Daddy. I love you.'

Severus had no words. Unthinking, he grabbed Athena and held her tight while focussing the rest of his energy on not doing something as ridiculous as _crying. _

_Good Lord! What's WRONG with me!?_

As he regained control over his emotions, he was indescribably relieved when Hermione rose to leave as soon as Athena snuggled into her pillow and shut her eyes. Following her, Severus extinguished the lights, leaving just one of the globes glowing faintly lest Athena be scared of the dark.

Before he left the room, he paused in the doorway to shake his head just once more over the name of that accursed swan. Maybe it was not a bad thing for Athena to associate his middle name with something other than her late grandfather. As for his own memories, Severus decided that if nothing else, Tobias-the-human was an excellent example of what not to be. With this in mind, he left the door half-open.

Athena would always be welcome in her parents' room.

*****

An awkward silence enveloped them as Severus and Hermione returned to the sitting room. Since Severus immediately resumed his marking with a vengeance, Hermione thought it prudent to get some of her homework done or at least to pretend that was what she was doing. Contrary to what she may or may not have said, Hermione had not missed any part of the events in Athena's room.

_Ginny was right. His Patronus is now a swan. I wonder what that signifies. I must revisit that book I found in the library a few weeks ago. Maybe I should ask him… no… he hates it when I'm inquisitive. I should try to prove to him that Gryffindors can be diplomatic and subtle... but would it really be so bad if I took an interest? Maybe he's waiting for me to mention it…_

However, even though Hermione had recovered from her last bout of Snape-baiting, it did not seem that Severus was in the mood to answer any further questions. Regardless, it was only a matter of time until Hermione abandoned her books altogether and started sneaking glances at the man on the opposite side of the table.

Though his appearance was best described by odd adjectives such as 'striking', which seemed to compliment without really giving any indication as to aesthetics, Hermione had always thought that the most unpleasant thing about Severus Snape was his abrasive personality: the way he ran roughshod over the feelings of others. She had by no means forgotten the incident with her teeth in her fourth year. That said, she knew that somewhere deep down inside, Severus Snape was a very good man.

_Here is a man who only survived two wars by burying his emotions so deep that they seem all but absent. A man who has, thus far, spent his entire adult life protecting the students who taunt him as soon as his back is turned. He's brave, he's talented and he's honourable. What can't Severus Snape do?_

However, Hermione knew that none of these estimable qualities were what might conceivably draw her to him. She smiled softly to herself as she recalled what had passed only a few minutes before.

_I have found a man who thought to leave a night light for his little daughter, despite having met her less than a week ago. He obviously loves Athena more than anyone else in the world._

This thought troubled Hermione as much as it warmed her. She had _felt_ how little the professor desired her presence during his moment with Athena.

_What if he only ever puts up with me for our daughter's sake? _

Though she would gladly present Severus Snape with whatever happiness it was in her power to give, Hermione was petrified at the thought that she might only be a burden to her husband, to the man she was supposed to love.

_What if I grow to love him, but he never feels the same way about me? _

Trying to be rational about the whole thing, Hermione began to assess her professor like a particularly difficult Arithmancy question. Now that she had glimpsed a few fleeting moments when he was kind and humorous with Athena, she thought life would be much more pleasant if he would act that way around her, too. The problem lay in how to reach the Severus Snape buried deep down beneath the unapproachable exterior that he presented to the world.

Beyond what was common knowledge, Hermione had no illusions that she knew anything special about the man. Her only source of hope was that knowingly or not, he had recently let his guard slip a few times in her presence. The more he did so, the easier it would be for her to learn about how to find the chinks in his armour and discover what lay beneath.

_No matter what else happens,_ Hermione decided, _I can be a good mother to Athena and Hadrian._

Being jealous of the children was simply out of the question. Severus might not ever find it in himself to love her, but Hermione vowed here and now that she would never grudge the little ones his affection. She would do well to be realistic about the future, and it was best to start now.

However, letting go of even her adolescent visions of domestic bliss was easier said than done. As hard as she tried to well and truly quash what she now _knew_ to be completely hopeless notions of church bells and happily ever after, Hermione found herself most unwilling to settle for something more moderate.

_But maybe one day he_ will_ love me..._

Merlin save her if she could not stop that from sounding like a prayer.

* * *

_ Next chapter: the first proper SS/HG interaction of the story. I'm excited._


	13. Chapter 13

CH 10 - Thursday 'Witch'

_AN: Sorry it took a long time again. Hope you like it!_

_Many thanks to my beta, Anachronistic Anglophile!_

* * *

A little while after going to bed, Athena awoke to the sound of Mummy yelling, and she started to feel a bit worried.

Mummy and Daddy almost never shouted at each other, but when they did it was very scary. Last time it had happened, Daddy went into his lab and slammed the door, while Mummy started cleaning things the Muggle way, muttering under her breath about 'impossible men' and 'stubborn gits' the whole time. Neither of them had gushed appropriately over the picture of a unicorn Athena had been so kind as to draw them. Just as she was about to get out of bed and tell her parents exactly what she thought of such behaviour, there was silence.

Athena promptly snuggled back under her covers, all her fears gone. After what she had seen last time, she knew better than to interrupt Mummy and Daddy when they used Silencing charms. Grown-ups were truly disgusting sometimes…

* * *

Severus felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle.

He was being watched, and there were no prizes for guessing the culprit.

_Didn't Granger's mother teach her that it's not polite to stare?_

Though he often directed his considerable powers of self-control into 'ignoring Hermione Granger', Severus quickly decided that this particular situation warranted a different approach. He did not doubt that she had questions, and, much to his dismay, he could not simply snarl his answers and dismiss her from the room at the school-bell.

_I'll confront her immediately and get whatever it is out in the open. Merlin forbid I accidentally fuel the fire by giving her the time to plan some deadly barrage…_

'Is there something you need, Hermione?' he asked coolly. He deliberately refused her the courtesy of pausing in his marking.

'I like your new Patronus,' she blurted out, before wincing slightly as if she had not intended that to come out at all.

_Hmpf. So she did notice…_

Since Severus could hardly suppose she had thought it worthwhile interrupting him for such an inane observation, he realised he would have to indulge her. Hermione wouldn't be his student much longer, and given everything that had happened over the last few days, it would be to his advantage to start building a bridge. He heaved a long-suffering sigh and looked up.

_Respect._

'Thank you,' he said formally, before floundering a little.

_What is the etiquette for responding to Patronus-related compliments? This politeness is simply excruciating …_

'I think it suits you,' she rambled on.

'Perhaps,' was his dry reply.

_There must be a point buried in these comments somewhere…_

'The Slytherin Quidditch team looks good this year.'

Severus was incredulous. He took a very deep breath to control the urge to pin Hermione with a death glare.

_Does she honestly think I have nothing better to do than sit here and make small talk?_

'I found out Athena's birthday,' she added blithely, as if it was nothing more consequential than the weather.

_What? I mean, about bloody time! _

Severus looked up, placed his quill down and leaned back in his chair so as to more fully participate in the conversation.

'Would you be planning to share that information?' he asked idly. A rather fierce gaze belied his outer nonchalance.

'If you stop interrupting me, I will,' she snapped, flushing slightly with indignation. It really was quite entertaining to see the know-it-all so hot and bothered, and Severus was even beginning to find it positively endearing.

'She was born on the 7th of May, 2000.'

Severus' eyebrows flew up to his hairline, shock killing his amusement. Subtracting the nine or so months she would be _in utero,_ Athena must have been conceived around early autumn in 1999.

He could see no major problem with this bar one: it was presently December, 1998.

_No wonder the girl needed that ridiculous introduction to work up to this! What the bloody hell were—are—we thinking!?_

Severus was absolutely aghast. They had a measly six months to work up something of a relationship, get married and conceive a child. If he factored in the time that Hermione would still be his student and nigh untouchable, it was closer to two months. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more obvious it seemed that Athena was an accident.

_Of course I wouldn't have entered into a relationship with Hermione Granger without the presence of rather extreme extenuating circumstances! Perhaps we were victims of an illegally administered love potion. No, I would definitely have smelled a love potion. Got drunk at a post-war commemoration party then held a shotgun wedding? No, how utterly tasteless…_

It was only when he remembered to factor in Athena's time travel that Severus' latest theories were rendered incredibly unlikely. He was saved from making a complete fool of himself when Hermione started talking again.

'I can see from your face that you've just done the time calculations,' she said calmly, as if she had not just shattered their peace for the foreseeable future.

_I'm beginning to think there's something not quite right about that girl! Why isn't she more upset by this?_

He knew that Hermione Granger was as Gryffindor as they came, but her calm acceptance seemed more like a whole new brand of insanity than bravery. Severus scrutinised Hermione as he never had before. He wanted to know what she really felt about becoming a mother just out of school.

Just skimming the surface behind her wide, brown eyes, all he could get was a general sense of adrenaline rush, energetic nervousness, excitement and an almost painful hope. For a moment, Severus could only marvel at the innocence of her mind, before he gently withdrew and wondered why he was so bothered by her lack of reaction.

The fact was, as confronting and really… _shitty_… as the whole situation with Athena was for him sometimes, she was still so young. Though his own youth had been full of terrible mistakes, Severus fully appreciated what it was to _choose._

_I feel… guilty._

His mistakes had at least been his own. Hermione would never get the chance to rebel and follow an evil Dark Lord even if she so desired. Working within this time frame, she would barely even have the time to enjoy life after school before she was saddled with a sour husband and the joys of pregnancy. From what Severus had heard, the latter sounded particularly awful and uncomfortable.

_Something to do with vomit and lots of swelling…_

As grudging as he was to admit it, Hermione had much more to lose than he did. Severus wanted to curse the Fates that were driving them both towards this end. He never doubted that Athena was worth it, but Severus was taking the loss Hermione couldn't even comprehend personally. As her teacher, he would never have picked Hermione Granger as the girl to end up with a child a year out of school.

_Well,_ he comforted himself, _it's not as if she'll be pregnant and bloody well alone, too._ Severus knew that the wizarding world was perhaps more conservative than the Muggle one when it came to relationships, but he honestly did not care what Hermione thought of his presence. He had no qualms about intruding if she thought otherwise. 'Care for pregnant wife' was part of his personal code of honour, and given Minerva's little contribution to this whole fiasco, he was certain he'd marry Hermione at some point. He certainly had no plans that involved allowing her to fend for herself.

_But it's still such a waste…_

Severus shook himself hard at this thought, bringing himself out of the reverie. Hermione would become an Unspeakable. It was not as if he was planning on holding her hostage. One of the perks of living at Hogwarts was that they would always have competent, free childcare in the form of elves. He also considered himself a fairly modern man by izarding standards. Hermione certainly wouldn't be expected to stay at home if that was not what she wanted.

_If she does this, if she really goes through with this, I will owe her forever…_

Realising that he still had yet to say something, Severus focused his attention once more on Hermione. It seemed that during the time he spent being sentimental on her behalf, _she_ had decided that she was not yet finished with ridiculously awkward conversation starters.

'I do not pretend to know how you plan to go about this,' she said in a business-like manner, eyes now shrewd and determined, 'but if I'm going to be sleeping with you by June or July, I would like to know you somewhat better than I do now.'

More stunned silence met this brazen statement. All sympathy Severus felt for the girl promptly fled screaming. Eventually, he recovered and said snidely, 'Are you sure you would not rather avoid all contact with me until it becomes absolutely necessary?'

He was still irked at how she seemed to have the better of him when it came to _their_ future. All he had done so far was react to something more like an air raid than a conversation.

'I realise this is a bizarre situation, Severus, but I would really appreciate it if you could discuss it me in a constructive manner.'

_How dare the girl patronise me thus? _

Reigning in his temper with a supreme effort, Severus grudgingly accepted that the know-it-all was right. They had a lot to discuss.

'Shall we move this conversation to the chairs in front of the fireplace? I think it's time I took a short break from these essays.'

Just because she was right didn't mean he had to openly acknowledge it.

* * *

When they adjourned to the more comfortable chairs in front of the fire, Severus called for a house-elf and ordered a tea tray, while Hermione took a few moments to compose her thoughts and emotions by pretending to look at the photographs on the mantle piece.

_How embarrassing! He must have thought I was such a dunderhead before!_

_I can do this. I am going to sit down and discuss the future with Severus Snape in a rational, mature way. I am going to try to work out what makes him happy. He looked so sad and thoughtful… I even think he used Legilimency on me. Not sure how I feel about that. He is such a strange man…_

Occupied as she was, it took a few moments for her to realise that the photographs were actually of people she knew. That is to say, they were comprised largely of pictures of Athena, mixed in with a few of herself as well as some of other friends and acquaintances. Hermione did not recognise most of the photos of Athena. There was one of her wearing her miniature Slytherin robes at the High Table, but clearly the majority were from the numerous father-daughter walks around the grounds over the last few days. In every one, her smile was bright and she waved furiously out of the frame in between bouts of playing in the snow.

Less easy to explain were some of the candid shots of Hermione from her younger years. One showed her in the library at night time, books piled high around her as she scribbled furiously by wandlight. In another, she frowned into her cauldron, only moving every now and then to refer to her textbook. She looked like she might have been in fifth and second year, respectively.

There were also several fairly humorous photos Hermione would never have expected to grace Severus Snape's mantelpiece. _Hadn't he hated Fred and George?_ Yet there were the Weasley twins at the moment they leapt on their brooms and flew out of Hogwarts. Another of Draco Malfoy suffering under the effects of a Bat-Bogey Hex actually paused in his flailing to sneer at Hermione. When she actually picked up a photo of herself, Harry and Ron celebrating in the Great Hall at what looked like a Leaving Feast, it seemed that Severus decided to prematurely head off her curiosity.

'Minerva asked me to make my quarters seem like a home for Athena,' he stated shortly, 'and before you ask, I do have more important things to do with my time than follow you around with a camera. Those are transferred memories, and I will not discuss the process of their creation with you at the present time.' He paused and added more mildly, 'How do you take your tea?'

In spite of his disclaimer, Hermione was once again awed by the amount of thought Severus must have put into creating these images. She was also excited that he had not completely ruled out giving an explanation at some point in the future. With this in mind, Hermione acquiesced to his obvious desire to return to more pressing matters.

'Milk and one sugar, thanks.'

* * *

Severus knew it had been a mistake to ask Hermione to sit by the fireplace. Even though it would truly be more comfortable to have this conversation in a cushioned chair rather than a wooden one, Severus was not sure it was worth drawing her attention to the travesty that was his mantelpiece. It wasn't that he did not like the pictures. Obviously, he had only put them there because they had some special meaning to him. The depiction of the totally-mismatched-but-inseparable-Trio was for friendship. On the other hand, Messrs Fred and George Weasley represented freedom and defiance of authority, not to mention that Severus thought they deserved a sort of nod of respect as two of the most misguided yet talented Hogwarts students that he ever had the dubious pleasure of teaching.

The problem was that he just wasn't ready to share this expression of his innermost thoughts with anyone else.

Thankfully, Hermione seemed to sense this and did not object when he steered the conversation back to the original topic. It was high time for him to reassert his will and get some information from her.

'So, how important do you think it is to marry before having children?' he enquired as he eyed her shrewdly. There was no point pussy-footing around such an essential issue.

She frowned.

'I think it is generally preferable, but not necessary, particularly when the couple is unsure of their ability to make it last,' she replied slowly.

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Hard.

'Hermione, do not force me to spell things out for you. I do not care for your theoretical opinion on any issue we discuss tonight. I am asking whether you think it important for us to be married before Athena is born.'

Her eyes flashed with irritation. 'Well, _Severus,'_ she said, emphasising his given name as if hoping he would object to its use, 'since I fully plan to at least like you before we create Athena, then yes, I expect we will progress from there and be married at some point down the track.'

'So you are not averse to the idea of pre-marital sex?' he mused.

Her reaction was priceless. She blushed red enough to rival a Weasley and choked on her tea.

'I don't, I mean… I suppose I'm not,' she finished.

'Interesting,' he said.

She looked a little confused at that. 'I just don't think we have a choice—'

'We don't,' he interrupted, but she heedlessly continued.

'What I mean to say is, do you really think that we can get married before August? What will people think? How far can we trust fate to ensure that Athena is born? Is it possible for us to ruin it? Do we have to sleep together more than once? Wait. What do you mean by, "We don't?" We don't what?'

Severus grimaced at the sheer amount of questions she could ask without drawing breath. He had no idea what she would think of the Oath.

'We don't have a choice. You are only allowed to stay in my quarters because I made an Oath to Minerva that we wouldn't consummate this union until after we're married.'

Silence. It was glorious.

It was also too good to be true.

'You did _WHAT?'_ Hermione screeched, her voice rising in both pitch and volume with every syllable.

Severus shot a worried look at the corridor and promptly put a Silencing charm on the room. There was no point in waking Athena as a result of her mother's hysterics.

Unfortunately for Severus, that was all the time Hermione needed to turn a well-aimed parry into a full blown attack. She was up out of her chair and advancing on him, her hair positively crackling with magic energy

'Did it never occur to you to ask me first?' she raged, stopping directly in front of him, arms akimbo. 'Didn't you _think_ that I might want some sort of say in when and how I marry you, you…'

'Evil git?' Severus supplied. In truth he was more than amused, but also slightly wary. Forget the cub, it seemed he had been landed with the full-grown lioness.

_Gods, she's magnificent…_

'Don't mock me!' she snapped, poking him hard in the chest. 'I know you don't take me very seriously, but the least you could do is consult me before making decisions that affect us both. Would it kill you to be considerate?'

The poke was one step too far. Words he could take, but a violation of his person was more than Severus was willing to put up with. His good mood evaporated.

'What would you have me do, witch?' he snapped, eyes flashing with fury as he rose from his seat to tower over her. 'Do you think I _wanted_ to take that Oath? Minerva was bloody well insistent, and you were the one who decided on coming down here in the first place. Next time I should let you deal with the old hag! You deserve each other!'

Hermione didn't reply, and the pair stood still, pink with rage, eyeing each other with ill-concealed contempt for a long moment. Then, in a move that Severus would tease her about for years to come, Hermione neither snarled back, nor gave into the passion of the moment by doing something outrageous like kissing him.

What she did do was throw her arms around him and promptly burst into tears.

As she muttered incoherently about being 'sorry, and I didn't mean to yell' Severus gingerly put one arm around her shoulders and patted her head awkwardly with the other. He was still reeling from the fact that she had caused him to lose his temper so quickly.

_Why the bloody hell is she crying and apologising? I don't think I've ever had a fight quite like this one. Merlin, women are absolutely frightening! I'll never taunt Lucius again about spending all that time pandering to Cissy's every whim…_

'I'm...I mean to say…I didn't mean to shout at you either,' he managed gruffly when Hermione had quieted a little.

Hermione barely seemed to be listening. Her answer seemed just as nonsensical and irrational to Severus as her crying had been.

'You called me "witch",' she replied, smiling up at him with a purely joyful look in her eyes that totally discomforted Severus. He could not recall ever being the object of such _adoration._

* * *

_'Witch', not 'girl'._


	14. Chapter 14

CH 14 - Friday 'A Midsummer Wedding'

_AN: A big thank-you to my beta, Anachronistic Anglophile, and to my readers/reviewers. I love you all._

* * *

As he lay in bed in the wee hours of Friday morning, listening to Hermione's steady breathing a few metres away, Severus reflected with great satisfaction on how well he had conducted their conversation after Hermione's little outburst. By forcing him to treat her as an equal, she had put him on the back foot. However, rather than doing her any disservice in his eyes, it amused Severus to realise that he now regarded Hermione's tenacity with something close to pride.

_She's really not all bad. I'll have to teach her Occlumency, but just imagine the fun if I set her loose at a Slytherin alumni dinner or allow her to handle my correspondence with some of the more bigoted Hogwarts parents. Of course, no one will dare say anything about it. They wouldn't want to offend one of the most upstanding Slytherins in the wizarding community… _

As alien as the idea seemed, Severus was also becoming accustomed to the thought of having a wife. Though long years of habit had made him accustomed to being alone, he was not so much of a sadist that he would hesitate to break the habit when the opportunity arose. Assuming that she did actually come to like him somewhat, Severus thought it might be nice to have someone around who cared.

And she _would_ be his wife. After all, that was what they had decided.

*****

The minute Hermione had stopped her sniffling, Severus let her go with alacrity. It seemed that Athena had picked up that strange propensity to hug from her mother, and while it was not wholly unpleasant, Severus still felt a little uncomfortable with so much intimacy. While Hermione tried to regather her calm, Severus turned his mind to her other questions about how they were going to ensure Athena's existence.

_We are both perfectionists, and botching this up may well end in murder…_

Severus did not know Hermione very well on a personal level. However, from what he had gathered about her character in class, he knew that she liked to quite literally know it all. For this reason, he thought it might be best to keep her from realising that the complexity of the time-travel situation reduced his mind to mush. In fact, they would both profit from the illusion of control.

'About your earlier questions, Hermione,' he drawled, as if their argument had never happened, 'I believe the best way to approach the situation we find ourselves in is to act as if we do not know what the future holds. In particular, I do not think it would be wise to rely too much on Athena's birthday to time the exact day of her conception. What are your thoughts on the matter?' he finished very deliberately, regarding her closely to see how she would interpret this rather vague proposition.

_If I'm going to be married, I have no intention of living my life as a bloody eunuch, other than strictly for the purposes of procreation! _

To his surprise, she picked up on his little tactic for more information.

'Severus,' she said, a touch impatiently, 'would you please try a little harder not to completely shut me out? You can call it lack of subtlety on my part if you want to, but without some sort of facial expression or explanation, I find it ridiculously difficult to understand you. Are you worried that Athena will be born prematurely or very late?'

_Hmm, that might have made more sense…_

In truth, Severus had never given much thought to whether to let Hermione 'in' or not. Now, where he actually _wanted_ to discuss something with her, he was a little chagrined to find that she found his communication skills so lacking that she needed to remind him to complete his sentences and use _some_ expressive body language.

'Yes, that is part of it,' he grumbled a little ungraciously. 'I don't know whether we can accidentally miss Athena's conception, but assuming that we can't, it seems highly undesirable to force her into a premature birth because we failed to act quickly enough.'

When Hermione calmly nodded her understanding, he surveyed her for another long moment to decide how much she was ready for.

_She's of age, and as she intimated earlier, she expects to be treated as such. But asking her opinion every five minutes is ridiculous. I'll lay my cards on the table and see what she says…_

'Hermione, you asked me to be direct, so I will attempt to explain to you how I think we should deal with our fate,' he stated, waiting only for another nod before continuing. 'Even without the Oath, I would feel more comfortable marrying you before engaging in any intimate activities. Irrespective of Minerva's prudishness or concern for public opinion, I do not wish to knowingly father a child on a woman whom I have not acknowledged as my wife,' he finished dryly.

_Now how's this for a plan…_

'May I suggest we continue to spend some time getting to know one another while you are still a student? If you can prove to me that you are, in fact, comfortable with the entire N.E.W.T. Potions syllabus, perhaps we can work on some sort of extension project. We can move on to a formal… courtship after you graduate. As for the wedding, my preference would be for the summer solstice in June, but I suppose July would acceptable if you wish to wait a bit longer. Regardless of the date of the ceremony, we could always make the adjustments to our lives marriage would normally entail over a longer period of time. Does that sound acceptable?'

_Wait. What?_

By the end of _that_ little proposal, Severus felt as if he had been trussed up and put on display for his worst enemies in his birthday suit, and he _knew_ what that felt like. Without a doubt, that must have been the most insipidly emotional speech he had ever made.

_Did I just ask Hermione Granger to marry me? No, worse. I assumed she was marrying me and told her my bloody fucking preferences for the date. The solstice? Really? I might as well borrow some of Minerva's robes and call myself Severina…_

Severus sat helplessly in his chair with all the poise of a Flobberworm and called himself seven types of idiot while he waited for her answer. Unsure exactly what he was preparing himself for, he almost jumped out of his skin when Hermione finally broke the silence.

'The project sounds like a wonderful idea,' she said, eyes shining with excitement. Severus was not sure what to think about the fact that she had latched onto that point and not the other. Even though he hadn't planned it, the thought that he had failed at a 'proposal' because it had been completely unintelligible to the woman was mortifying. Hermione then added quietly, 'If you don't mind, I think I need to talk to some people before setting a date for the wedding. I… I don't think I'd be very comfortable living with my parents or at Grimmauld Place with the boys after we're married. Living together will help us get to know one another. I _want_ to have a proper marriage.'

The memory of her sincere expression was the last thing Severus thought of before he drifted off to sleep.

_She even managed a smile as she said it. Brave, brave little lioness…_

*****

When she woke on Friday morning, Hermione took a few moments to wonder why on earth the hangings around her four-poster were green.

_Oh! I'm still in Severus' rooms!_ she remembered, smiling broadly as she flicked through her memories of the night before. She wanted to giggle at the thought that over the space of a week, Professor Snape had become 'Severus'. The more time they spent together, the easier it became to see past all the general incivility and glimpse the fairly sensitive man with the wicked sense of humour underneath. She smirked a little to herself.

_Sensitive when it comes to his pride, at least…_

Though she was now sure that some of his evil bat persona was just that—an affectation he kept up for his own nefarious purposes—Hermione would not delude herself into thinking that, with a bit of help, Severus would be reintroduced to the world as an outwardly gentle, kind man. He was a grumpy git in fact, if not in thought, and Hermione had a strong suspicion that he actually _liked_ to be misunderstood by most people.

_At any rate, he creates half of his own problems…_

As if trying his hardest to prove her point, Hermione's thoughts were unceremoniously interrupted when their subject flung the hangings around her four-poster wide open. He was fully dressed, but glared at her out of slightly red-rimmed eyes.

'Get up,' he snapped, stalking away before she even had time to wish him a 'Good Morning.' Hermione had to suppress a giggle at his antics. It seemed that Severus was not a morning person, and she was truly surprised to realise that his surliness could reach new heights over something so normal. However, embarrassment quickly followed amusement as she realised that perhaps she had subconsciously believed some of the stories about Professor Snape skulking about the castle at all hours like a deranged insomniac or other nocturnal creature.

A few minutes later, while Hermione washed the shampoo out of her hair, she wondered what other misconceptions about Severus Snape she might be harbouring. _I wonder if he would consider doing a survey for me with questions similar to Gilderoy Lockhart's back in second year?_ She quickly dismissed the idea, shuddering slightly at the thought of asking him that. Even if Severus usually ended up answering her questions, inviting the sharp side of his tongue to comment on what he would see as impertinent prying did not seem like a very satisfying way of gaining information.

Hermione smiled smugly as she reached for the conditioner. It would be a far greater challenge to fill in her mental checklist based on nothing but her own observations and some very careful snooping.

_Now here's a task to last me a lifetime…_

*****

Overall, Friday passed in a comparatively more peaceful way than any other day that week. There was only one significant change of schedule. Instead of dropping Athena off with Severus in the afternoon, Hermione decided to skive off her last Charms class before the holidays and join their little jaunt around the grounds. Though Severus had frowned when she announced her intention to accompany them, he had not questioned her further, for which Hermione was grateful. She really felt like she ought to ensure that Athena was no longer upset with her, given the fairly impressive grudge Athena had proved herself capable of holding.

'Mummy, can I have a broomstick?'

'No,' Severus growled, before Hermione even had a chance to open her mouth. When Athena did not press the point, but merely pouted and kicked at the snow, Hermione realised that whether he knew it or not, Severus must have this conversation fairly often with his daughter.

'If I can't have a broomstick, can I have a Pygmy Puff?'

When Severus only snorted and muttered something under his breath about the things being a 'pointless waste of space', Hermione was pleased for this opening to finally take on the mantle of parental responsibility.

'If you're a good girl, perhaps the elves will bring one for you this Christmas,' she reassured the little girl. 'Did you know Aunt Ginny has one called Arnold?'

'No, Mummy, Arnold died last year, remember?' Athena replied solemnly. 'Uncle Ron accidentally kicked Arnold when you chased him out of the kitchen for tasting the soup with his finger, and Aunt Ginny cried until Uncle Harry promised to get her a new one.'

Hermione felt like laughing aloud. Ron and Harry would always be the little brothers she'd never had. It seemed that even marriage and children with Severus Snape, of all people, had not taken that away from her. Attempting to do her future self a favour, Hermione decided to try something.

'If we arrange for you to get a Pygmy Puff, maybe when we're all at the shop you can choose another one for Hadrian.'

As Athena appeared to deliberate for a few minutes, Hermione waited on tenterhooks for her answer.

'Okay,' she finally said, nodding. 'Mine is going to be green. Hadrian has to have another colour.'

Feeling immensely relieved, Hermione contentedly listened to her daughter's chatter for another fifteen minutes, not even noticing when Severus began to steer them both back towards the castle. Suddenly, not ten metres from the steps to the Entrance Hall, Athena began to glow with a bright, neon blue light.

Just as Hermione bent down and pulled out her wand to check what was wrong with Athena, Severus quite forcefully wrenched her hand from their daughter's and grabbed Hermione around the waist in order to drag her a couple of steps away.

'Severus? What are you doing?'

In the blink of an eye, the child was gone.

* * *

_AN: *smirks* I couldn't help myself with the chapter title. I offer no defence for my terrible sense of humour. As you've probably guessed, this is finishing up soon. At this stage, I'll probably post the last bit as two chapters, but at the same time._


	15. Chapter 15

CH 15 - Saturday 'The Beginning and the End'

_AN: Many thanks to my beta, Anachronistic Anglophile. We're nearing the end!_

* * *

_December 19, 1998_

On Saturday evening just before dinner, Severus walked back into the castle, cold and absolutely fuming with pent-up rage. Being forced to watch idiotic children frolic around Hogsmeade all day was never his preferred method of spending the weekend, but this day had gone far beyond painful into excruciating. Though he was never particularly sociable, even at the best of times, Severus had never felt more inclined to shut himself in his rooms for a week and refuse to talk to anybody.

All day in Hogsmeade, Severus had been haunted by visions. Everything he saw reminded him of Athena: a pretty bauble he would not be able to give her, a gleeful laugh that was not hers. There had even been a student wearing a cloak that looked just the one he had Transfigured for her the first time they went out into the snow. For Merlin's sake, he might as well just scream his feelings in every room of the castle from the top of the Astronomy Tower to the lowest dungeon.

He _missed_ her.

Hermione's total absence only served to further fuel Severus' foul mood. His lovely more-or-less-fiancée had not been at dinner on Friday _or_ breakfast the next morning, nor had he seen her in Hogsmeade at any point throughout the day. Though it had only been one day since Athena left, Severus was already desperate for proof that his daughter had been more than an elaborate dream or very painful delusion. Deciding that he was not going to stand for the awful emptiness that he felt within him any longer, Severus did something quite unprecedented: he sought out Hermione Granger.

For the first time as either a student or teacher, Severus Snape actually crossed the threshold of Gryffindor Tower to hammer on the door of Hermione's dormitory. A few minutes and a very sore hand later, his brain returned from its short vacation. When _Homenum revelio_ proved that no one was in the room, Severus went down to the Great Hall in search of the Weasley girl. Ginevra was quite spectacularly unhelpful. The sum total of her response was a concerned look and vague comment to the effect that Hermione had left their room early in the morning and not been seen since. Striding out of the Great Hall to check the Hospital Wing on his way up to the Astronomy Tower, Severus cursed himself when he realised where he had not yet looked.

_Where better to look for a bookworm than the library?_

Sure enough, upon entering the empty, dark library, one beam of light immediately caught Severus' attention, shining strongly in the darkness. Making his way directly towards it, Severus gritted his teeth with frustration when he saw Hermione surrounded by stacks of books. She even had the gall to look serene and peaceful as she sat with her head buried in what was a particularly large tome, even by his standards.

_She does NOT get to be so damn unruffled by this!_

Violently pulling out the chair opposite her and sitting down, Severus immediately regretted his internal venom when Hermione jumped and looked up. She blinked owlishly a few times, clearly struggling to focus on him with her red-rimmed, wet-looking eyes.

_Merlin! I doubt I looked that bad even after sessions with the Dark Lord!_

'Hello,' she managed weakly, a slightly relieved expression on her face.

'What are you reading?' he asked softly, anger melting away now that he had seen her in such bad shape. He certainly did not want to make her look any worse…

_'The Fabric of Time,'_ she answered matter-of-factly. 'It's very informative, but the theory was better explained in _Temporal Theories._ I've also ordered copies of the newest periodicals, of course, but they will take another few weeks to arrive at Hogwarts. You see, the problem is that I have so many questions, but Professor Vector wasn't available today, and I had to do something. I mean, I just thought I might perform better in an interview if I knew something about the research I want to pursue. Is there anything I've forgotten?' she finished breathlessly, wringing her hands like an anxious house-elf.

Severus felt like he had just been smacked in the face.

'I beg your pardon?' he questioned stupidly, still reeling with the sheer intensity of the girl's verbal diarrhoea.

Hermione's energy abruptly seemed to leave her. She slumped a little. 'I just thought I should start researching,' she explained more slowly. 'I want to try and meet the Ministry's requirements to become an Unspeakable before Athena arrives. I just don't think I'll be able to manage once I have a baby, but I have to do it somehow.' This last was little more than a whisper.

Severus frowned slightly. By his reckoning, Hermione was going to run herself ragged long before Athena arrived if she kept devouring such complex Arithmantic formulas at such a pace. The magical theory surrounding time travel was very complicated, and, as it happened, he did know something of the subject. There was no denying that outcome-reversal had once had a significant appeal to him during several, bleaker periods of his life. It would be to their mutual benefit if he attempted to guide her through this madness.

'Come,' he said shortly, standing. 'You've clearly not eaten, and nor have I. I'll have the house-elves bring some food to my rooms, and after we've dined, I'll try to answer your questions.'

His offer was met with yet another beaming smile. She really was beginning to make it a habit, and though his heart constricted a bit with sadness when he saw it, Severus knew he could get used to being smiled at like that. As Hermione started to send books flying back to the shelves, he noticed that she left two on the table: _The Fabric of Time,_ which she was evidently not finished with, another a small, battered little thing Severus didn't recognise.

Thinking that it wouldn't hurt to at least _act_ the gentleman until she was bound to him for good, Severus picked both books up and began to tuck them under one arm. In doing so, he realised that the smaller book was a copy of the Hogwarts School Rules. Raising an eyebrow, he questioned her sardonically, 'What do you need this for? Surely you don't think Ministry interviews are like trivia night down at the Leaky Cauldron?'

To his great amusement, Hermione glared at him a little before raising her chin defiantly. She replied, 'Well, if we're going to live here in the dungeons, there will need to be some changes made to the rules about teachers not living at the castle with their spouses. Who do _you_ think is going to push that to the Board?'

Offering Hermione his free arm so that they could walk down to the dungeons together, Severus couldn't stop a smug smile from forming. Though he knew that he would probably want to draft the amendments himself, he had no problem with Hermione doing the brunt of the tedious research.

_I wonder why I never thought of hiring a competent research assistant before…_

'Well, since the governors are still conservative, old men for the most part, I imagine that such a task will naturally fall to me,' he drawled insolently, hoping she might favour him with another glare. They were still more fun than the smiles. 'I expect to see your strategy and an outline of the proposed changes on my desk by the end of January.'

To Severus' surprise, Hermione gave him a sweet smile. It was sickeningly sweet, really, and that worried him. 'Of course, _dear,_' she replied, sending a shiver of sheer terror down his spine with her unnaturally saccharine tone and unwarranted term of affection. 'And I expect you to clear your schedule on Thursday evening. _We_ have a meeting with the headmistress on Friday, and _you_ will need to be briefed on your role. There are some things we simply _must_ discuss with her…'

As he inclined his head mock-solemnly in assent, Severus' smirk deepened.

_That's my girl…_

Maybe there _was_ more to this fate or destiny lark than he had formerly believed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Someday 'In All Her Wisdom'

_December 16, 2004_

Severus recast his Warming Charm, feeling thoroughly miserable. Any student brave enough to venture out-of-doors this chilly December week would have seen the Potions Master keeping a silent vigil on the steps to the Entrance Hall, lost in thought.

On Monday, Severus was concerned. In hindsight, he wondered how in Hades Athena could possibly have failed to notice that she had travelled to the past. He fervently hoped that she had no memory of being _hexed_ by her father. For Merlin's sake! Even at the time, he ought to have known better! However, Severus did have one thought to comfort himself with. _At least,_ he reflected, _I did a better job than Hermione._ Of course, that hadn't exactly been hard to do, since his wife had been completely unaware of the role she was to act.

Speaking of Hermione, he sincerely hoped that she never found out what caused Athena's trip to the Hospital Wing in the past. In the time since the war, Severus had become quite attached to his comfortable existence. Losing it at the hands of his occasionally fierce little wife was really not how he wanted to go. Remembering the night of the accident, he sneered at the thought of his daughter being left with the Weaslette (or Mrs Potter, as she was now known) for the beginning of her stay.

_Minerva should have asked Hermione from the start. She was always the more responsible of the two._

By the time Tuesday came, Severus was tired and irritable. During some time spent reminiscing the previous night, Hermione had reminded him of Athena's rather dramatic fashion of revealing the identity of her mother. The forever curious witch then asked her husband what he had thought when he first found out. He told her the truth. It really _could_ have been worse. As a result, Severus had been the one to get up and tend to Hadrian whenever the baby made a noise during the night. He thought this seemed grossly unfair, given that half the time, Hermione ended up awake anyway when their son wanted to be fed.

_So much for openness and honesty…_

When Wednesday rolled around, Severus had begun to feel anxious and slightly manic. Hermione had finally dropped the 'everything-will-be-all-right' act and confided in him how very much she missed their baby girl. Unsurprisingly, Severus spent the whole of that day and night on the brink of insanity as he struggled to comfort his teary wife. Even though he was now much more comfortable with hugs and other forms of physical affection, Hermione's tears still scared him like nothing else on earth. In fact, sometimes he even admitted to himself that there was a very direct relationship between Hermione's happiness and his own. It would be very beneficial for their home life for Athena to return.

_Please, please don't cry, love. I would bring her back if I could…_

Thursday evening saw Severus gloomy and depressed. He missed Athena as much as Hermione did. Since it would not be wise (or fair) to take out his unhappiness on the wife he adored, he vented his anger the only way he could. Every single one of his students left his lessons cowering in fear, and the House point hourglasses had not been so empty since early October.

That fateful Thursday, just as he was about to walk back into the Entrance Hall in search of his wife and dinner, a much-anticipated voice broke the silence that he insisted upon when brooding.

'Daddy? What are you doing over there? Do you think I should call my Pygmy Puff James or Oscar?'

Bolting down the steps to snatch his daughter into a fierce hug, Severus was sure he had never felt so relieved. However, even the happiness of the occasion could not stop him from answering a little crossly, 'James is an awful name. You would do much better naming it Oscar.'

On returning to the dungeons a few minutes later, Severus and Hermione 'swapped' children, so Hadrian would not be neglected while Athena was thoroughly fussed over by her mother. Watching Hermione hug, kiss and otherwise smother a protesting Athena, Severus couldn't help but have a nauseatingly sentimental moment when he thought about how far they had come since that confusing week a few years before.

Of course, they had managed to cobble together a fairly harmonious working relationship by the time Hermione graduated. His and Hermione's first kiss even occurred over a steaming cauldron after the first successful attempt at brewing a pleasant-tasting variant of Wolfsbane. Though Severus had never thought much of werewolves, he decided it would be easier to just let Hermione follow her compulsion to 'serve the community'. Werewolves were marginally better than house-elves, after all. During this period, they also learnt to compromise. When she made it unnecessary for him to continue his practice of purposely assigning detentions just to get his cauldrons cleaned, he gave her the password to his lab.

As discussed, the wedding had actually taken place on Midsummer's Day, and Ministry records indicate that the union was indeed consummated that night. Unsurprisingly, the wizarding press had a field day when word reached them that the usually reclusive ex-spy had been photographed taking in the sights of Prague (Severus flatly refused to go further abroad than the Continent) with golden girl Hermione Granger. That is to say, they managed to get out one evening edition of the _Prophet_ speculating on Miss Granger's sanity before a positively livid Hermione Snape stormed the office, her paper in hand, and demanded to see the editor-in-chief. Severus had refused to comment when he arrived at the office fifteen minutes later to join his wife. In any case, the morning edition printed a half-page congratulatory message to Professor and Mrs Snape, with a small footnote apologising for ruining their honeymoon. Any further queries were directed to Severus Snape at 12 Grimmauld Place, London. Auror Potter had not been amused by the owls that constantly circled the courtyard of his home for weeks, trying (and failing) to find the extra high-security, unplottable house.

Athena's conception had gone off without a hitch. After a significant number of 'practice sessions' and some honest to goodness _trying,_ Severus had never been happier than when Hermione had started to lose her breakfast every morning in late September. Severus smirked in remembrance. By that time, they had honed their skills to such a fine art it seemed only logical to continue. It did not hurt that they had also developed quite a lot of affection for one another as the months passed. However, in typical Severus fashion, he refused to call it love until very shortly into the New Year. Actually, the Hogwarts faculty had only celebrated a few minutes of the new millennium when the champagne containing a slow-acting variant of Veritaserum Severus had been drinking all night finally reached his head. Apparently, Minerva (with Horace Slughorn's assistance) had been planning this dastardly revenge ever since the day Severus had let Hermione loose in the headmistress' office not long after Athena's disappearance. Despite the many outrageous things he said that night as a result of the spiked drink, Severus forgot to be even mildly upset with Minerva when he saw the look on his wife's face as the words 'don't mind', 'like', even 'am fond of' refused to come out between 'I' and 'you'.

A soft gurgle from the baby in Severus' arms abruptly brought him back to the present. Looking into his son's sleepy, honey-brown eyes, Severus' smirk turned into a small smile at the great joy that had been brought into his life by the arrival of a little girl one December evening. As he realised by the time she truly entered the world, Athena's smile was her mother's, not the other way around, and she had certainly not been named for the stiff old cat sitting in the Headmistress' office.

Athena Hermione Snape was his own, personal goddess.

Actually, Hermione had protested against naming the child for herself. She said that the Athena she knew would not tolerate living in anyone's shadow, but Severus refused to yield. As far as he was concerned, no matter what Athena managed to discover in later years about how her parents came together, she would do best to remember to whom she owed her existence. Although Severus truly believed that his wife did not regret a moment of their life together, and tried his utmost to keep it that way, he still thanked Merlin every day for his fearless, determined Gryffindor girl. He never forgot that she had essentially given up her youth to wed the snarky Potions master and become Athena's mother.

By the same token, Severus often reminded himself that it was Athena who paved the road for everything else. She had given him more in the space of a week than he, in all his thirty-eight years, had ever been graced with the wisdom to hope for. Later, when Severus sneaked into Athena's room to reassure himself that she was really home, he was not really surprised to find Hermione there too, even though he had assumed she had gone to bed an hour ago.

Walking to stand just behind her, he wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her softly on the cheek before gazing down at their sleeping daughter together.

'Severus,' she sighed contentedly, leaning back into his embrace. After a few moments, Hermione slowly turned in his arms to face him. 'I'm so glad to have her back,' she whispered.

Severus rolled his eyes at her for stating the obvious, but gave her a rare smile a second later. He was happy, too.

'I love you,' Hermione added, returning her husband's very slight twitch of the lips with a brilliant smile of her own.

'And I, you,' he murmured, pulling her even closer so as to kiss her properly.

_Perhaps,_ Severus mused somewhat incoherently through the kisses, _Athena has earned that toy broomstick for Christmas after all…_

The End.

* * *

_AN: For anyone who has forgotten, this particular brand of time travel was explained in Chapter 1. Athena disappeared on a Friday in the past, and arrived back on a Thursday in the future. This (disappointingly) Muggle author has no explanation for the magic, so feel free to make up your own._

_Now to be a bit gushy…_

_Although I love all my readers, I really want to thank every single reviewer who has shared this experience with me. I wasn't sure what to expect from a first fic, but it has been a pleasure to get to know you, and I really appreciated your feedback._

_And now, at the very end, the last and largest thanks must go to my wonderful beta, Anachronistic Anglophile. Without her careful and detailed comments, ideas, deletions and additions, this story wouldn't even be half as good. *squishes you* - MW _


End file.
